A Legendary Story: The First of Its Kind, Part 1: Just the beginning
by Madth333
Summary: Not long after the Second World War, the entire planet is faced with a new enemy. This enemy comes from the stars and begin an immediate campaign to eliminate all life on Arda. With the super powered persons of the world dwindling from their attempts to stop this invasion force, the last hope for humanity rests with a lone Officer in the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
1. Contents

A Legendary Story: The First of Its Kind

by Madth333

Part 1: Just the beginning

Chapter 1: What have we done?

Chapter 2: But how?

Chapter 3: They were right

Chapter 4: So what do we do now?

Chapter 5: A sight for sore eyes

Chapter 6: I know where to find him

Chapter 7: And bring your spider

Chapter 8: And who's that?

Chapter 9: We had to follow him

Chapter 10: It couldn't be?

Chapter 11: We will be it's kings

Chapter 12: Am I correct?

Chapter 13: I'm ready for the punch-line

Chapter 14: I've got a few leads

Chapter 15: Saved my shootin' shoulder

Chapter 16: As best we could

Chapter 17: Where we goin'?

Chapter 18: In due time

Chapter 19: About last night

Chapter 20: Who said I was alone?

Chapter 21: You in here?

Chapter 22: This had to be it, right?

Chapter 23: Just a legend

Chapter 24: You're late, Officer

Chapter 25: A few days?

Chapter 26: Funny thing is

Chapter 27: Their side of the river

Chapter 28: Let's get moving


	2. Chapter 1: What have we done?

Part 1:Just the beginning

Chapter 1: What have we done?

There were thousands of them. Apparently, the nukes we used to end the Second World War had sent a wave of radiation across Ea. The aliens, whatever they are, had detected the wave, and traced its origin back to Arda. We came to understand that they had assumed the radiation was from a bomb of their own making; one they had perhaps left behind, on Arda, a long time ago. When they finally arrived, and witnessed the destruction of man's most violent weapons, they decided to eliminate man, and claim Arda as their own. They arrived with no warning. There were no signs. It was a complete annihilation.

The invasion began with a portal suddenly appeared over Japan. It opened between where the two nukes were dropped, just over 7 years prior. It took mere hours for the aliens to have made their way to Europe. Within a week, the aliens had reached both coasts of the United States. While the previous two decades had seen the rise of mutants, super soldiers, and incredible technologies, this assault would come to claim every one of Arda's most incredible defenders.

As the last of Arda's resistance forces gathered at the Gotham City Police Department in Gotham City, New York, extinction seemed inevitable. In GCPD Commissioner Jim Gordon's office, resistance leader, Strategic Scientific Reserve Director Nick Fury, addressed myself and Special Agent Phil Coulson.

"Agent Coulson," he agonized, "the aliens are coming from Long Island. Their ships can obviously get them across the water. If they get to Gotham...it's over."

"... So what can we do, Director?" Coulson asked, almost rhetorically.

"Barry is the key. He said he thinks with the Speed Force that he can run fast enough to travel back in time," Fury started to muse.

Exasperated by Director Fury's suggestion, I was compelled to object, "Sir! The consequences of that action…"

"I know Officer!" Fury barked back. "I've spoken to Wayne, Stark, and Richards… and they all agree with you. But what choice do we have! The Wakandans were outnumbered, even with the

Amazonians! We've lost the Invaders, the X-Men, Green Lantern…"

"Enough, I know. I know… Then I guess like Phil said, 'what can we do, Director?'"

We left the station and regrouped at Stark Tower in Manhattan. There, we met with the remaining group of superheroes, The Avengers: Batman, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and the Flash. By then, the aliens had reached the shores of Gotham City, and the remaining SSR forces had gathered with the resistance, at the alien landing site, and had strapped in for the final stand. Time was closing quickly.

Because I had drawn the short straw, literally, I would be apart of the ensuing madness directly. As Barry Allen, The Flash, had put it, "If your body melts from the Speed Force, I'm sorry. But, maybe fate chose you for a reason." The plan was simple, even if coming to the plan was not. With me in hand, Barry would use his connection to the Speed Force, and would run us both back to 1938, at the onset of the war.

Once in the past, our mission, in general, would be to try and unite the various heroes of Arda, and to prevent the nukes from ever being used to end the Second World War. Sounds simple enough, right? And yes, we had considered the various theoretical paradoxes, and universe shattering possibilities… as well as my own potential desemation from the Speed Force; but in the end, it was determined that this was our only hope.

As the aliens stormed the shores of Gotham City, the resistance was quickly failing. Iron Man and Batman had left Stark Tower, with General Fury and Agent Coulson, to try and slow down the alien armada. Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic, stayed at Stark Tower with Barry and me, to detonate one final nuke; should the aliens reach the tower. Barry and I were to be humanity's last hope.

While we were going through the final preparations, an alien aircraft, with Batman onboard, came crashing into Stark Tower. Batman exited the wrecked craft, and gave me one final instruction. He yelled, "Find me! Tell me my dreams are real! Tell me we must prevent the invasion! Go now!"

Barry quickly began racing to open up the Speed Force. Once he had opened the portal for us to enter into, a surviving alien had emerged from the wrecked craft, behind Batman. As Barry and I entered the Speed Force, the alien lunged at Batman, with a spear, and impaled him through his chest. Reed detonated the final nuke at Stark Tower, just as the portal to the Speed Force closed behind Barry and me. We had to succeed. Otherwise, well, there was nothing left.

The Speed Force is a mysterious thing. I certainly don't understand it. Barry says he does, but I really don't believe he knows as much about it as he says he does. And what happened to us next, even he didn't try to explain.

As we were traveling through the Speed Force, a bright yellow flash of light zoomed in front of Barry. The sudden flash knocked Barry off of his path, and we tumbled through the Speed Force. Out of control, and not wanting to miss our destination, Barry was able to grab hold of me and then get us out of the Speed Force immediately. Exiting the Speed Force abruptly caused us the first set back in our mission. However, this would only be a minor set back.

Although we had missed our mark of 1938, we still had time to prevent the invasion. We had arrived at Gotham City Park, in the early hours of August 25, 1941. Luckily we arrived at just past midnight, and no one was around to see our arrival. That would have been a tricky one to explain. The mission, again, is to convince the most brilliant minds of Arda, a world, and time, in which time travel is still only fiction, that we are in fact from the future, and trying to save them from an alien annihilation... Having to explain that to the Gotham City Police Department, or anyone else, would have been difficult to say the least. Even with me being on the GCPD at the time.

Speaking of difficult explanations, to my relief, and also terrified surprise, the Speed Force hadn't melted my body! To make sure, I even asked Barry, "I still here right? Like, I'm good, right?" Barry laughed at me, but he did confirm that I had, in fact, survived the Speed Force. He did note however, "You did change your uniform though. Nice. " I looked over myself, and I had changed? From my SSR combat uniform, to some random unmarked tactical uniform. With no good and, or logical explanation, and with more pressing matters to attend to, we decided that my wardrobe change should be answered another time.

We left the park and made our way to my apartment in Hell's Kitchen; right between Gotham City and New York City. It was only a few minutes walk from the park. Once we had made it safely to my apartment, Barry told me he wasn't going to stay in 1941, and that he was going to investigate the yellow flash from inside the Speed Force.

"But what about all of the paradoxes, and ending Ea, and all of that other quantum stuff Reed and everyone was warning us about?" I demanded to know. "The resistance still needs you! We're a few years late but we can still save Arda! Our mission isn't over!"

As I was yelling for Barry to answer me, he silently raised a copy of the Daily Bugle newspaper. The front page story for today's paper was titled, "The Death of The Flash". When we were on our way back to my place, Barry had sped in to a newspaper stand, and grabbed today's new issue. Barry finally spoke, gently, "I think this is a sign. Maybe even from the Speed Force. This timeline is not the same one that we are originally from. I mean, it is...but its not. Somehow in this timeline...I'm dead."

We both just stood in the entryway to my apartment. Looking at each other; unable to say another word. The present, future, is doomed, and now Barry's dead in 1941? What else was different? I walked over to sit down on the couch and just buried my face into my hands. Barry started pacing in the entryway. Eventually, I looked up at Barry and asked, "What have we done?"


	3. Chapter 2: But how?

Chapter 2: But how?

Originally, in August of 1941, I had just been promoted to Officer, with the GCPD. My roommate was GCPD Patrolman Jim Hammond. During the early morning hours of August 25th, Jim was still out working a third shift over in Hell's Kitchen. When I had known Jim at this point in time, he was a stand up guy, but very mysterious. He would later reveal himself to be a superhero that could set himself on fire, and fly… So in hindsight, the secrecy he displayed then, does make a lot of sense now. He went on to fight with the Invaders as the Human Torch. Jim revealed his true nature after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when he joined the, then newly created United States of America Strategic Scientific Reserve.

As new GCPD recruits, Jim and I were partners. We both started in 1938, and we had been good friends ever since. Outside of work, Jim and I would be known to run the pool tables at Josie's Bar; us, and fellow GCPD Patrolman Phil Coulson. Phil started at the GCPD a year after we did, and was assigned to our squad in the fall of 1939. Phil was an average, local Gotham boy. He had grown up wanting to work for the GCPD. He used to always say, "This city deserves a hero. Even if it doesn't want one." In the original timeline, Phil had also joined the SSR in December 1941, after Pearl Harbor. He quickly became one of the top SSR Special Agents, and worked directly with Nick Fury, eventual SSR Director.

Now, remember earlier when I said that Barry and I were lucky that no one was at the park when we arrived? Well, unfortunately for us, Phil just so happened to stop by the apartment shortly after Barry and I had arrived...

Not long after Barry and I had just confronted his apparent death, we heard a knock at the door. I looked through the peephole and aggressively whispered to Barry, "Crap! Phil's here!" Barry paused, and then returned in an equally aggressive whisper, "Crap! Ok… As far as he knows, you are you, from now... Right? I'll run out when you open the door and go to see what I can find out about how I died. I'll meet you back here in the morning." Phil knocked on the door again. I agreeingly nodded at Barry, and turned to open the door.

So, in this timeline, I had, apparently, had plans this evening. Phil had stopped by when I never showed up to watch the Gotham Knights vs. New York Giants preseason football game at Josie's Bar. He had watched the game down at Josie's; expecting me to show up. While on his patrol route, Jim had even briefly swung by to say hello. After the game, when I hadn't returned any of his missed calls, Phil decided to stop by the apartment and see if everything was alright.

While Phil was still knocking, I answered the door casually with a, "Hey man!". Barry flashed, pun intended, past and out of sight. Phil wasted no time, and immediately started in with the questions, "Are you ok, Officer? Have you been here all night? Even Jim stopped by in the third quarter. He said he hadn't seen you in two days? The Knights rookie QB V. Stone looks legit. What's going on with you?"

Now, before we go on, let me ask you… If you were just sent back in time, to a different time than intended no less, and you find out that the past is not even the past you once knew, any longer; a future resistance leader, and current friend, arrives immediately after you arrive, and begins questioning why you didn't show up to watch the football game… How would you proceed?

… For better or for worse, I spilled it all to Phil. Right then and there...

After taking in everything I had to say, Phil quietly inquired, "Oh my Eru, you're on Vertigo or something aren't you? Should I call you an ambulance? Oh man, how did this happen to you?"

"What!? No man, it's the truth. I can prove it to you. Jim! Jim can set himself on fire and turn in to the Human Torch! I'll show you… Just wait until he gets back from his shift!"

I thought for sure that Phil would believe me. For sure after my thoroughly rational explanation of events… But, Phil just stared at me wide eyed. His mouth slightly gaping. Showing both shock and bewilderment. He was at a loss for words but, being the friend that he is, Phil decided to play along. He stayed and waited for Jim to get back. Phil laughed, "Alright, we'll see. But this pizzas getting cold, and we can still finish the CBS Television Quiz Show, so let's go sit on the couch."

Before long Phil had fallen asleep on the couch. It was about 4:00 am, and Jim would be back home until around 6:30 am. I couldn't sleep, not now, and not without knowing when Barry would return. So I sat at the kitchen table, and I thought. I began to write notes. A list of all of the things that I could remember, from the first timeline. Every important event in the Second World War, and every hero to make their stand. By this time, in 1941, The Batman had been active in Gotham for just over a year now. In the future, Batman told me to tell him, in the past, that his dreams are real... I really hope he knows what that means.

Jim finally arrived home just after 6:00 am on the morning of the 25th. He walked in the door, "Hey, Officer!" He laughed, "Phil have too much after the game? Where have you been, by the way?"

"Hey, Jim. Well... maybe a little." I laughed. However, the laughing was short lived. As I stood in the kitchen, Jim met me at the table. He could sense that something was off. He asked me, "What happened?"

"I need you to listen to me, Jim. I know who you are... Kind of. I know you're not from New York, and I know what you can do."

"What!? What are you talking about?" Jim evaded.

"Listen man. I was sent back in time. Barry, the Flash, brought me back to save us."

Jim interjected, "What? The Flash was killed two days ago, when a Star Labs transfer unit was attacked in Central City."

"We know. We found out once we arrived. Barry grabbed a newspaper on the way here."

I went on to explain to Jim the full recounting of the past few hours. From the final stand in Gotham City, to the Speed Force, to this morning. He took the news far better than Phil. He sat down at the table, and saw the notes I had listed. Without saying a word, Jim rolled up his right arm sleeve. As I watched him ball up his fist, his hand became engulfed in flames!

Jim told me, "I believe you, I do. I've known since the Nazis first moved, that my time was coming. I never wanted to have such abilities. But I've also always know that my abilities would be called upon. We must prevent these 'nukes' from being used...I still don't fully understand these 'nukes'... But, we must save humanity… but how?"

Jim and I decided to wait for Phil to wake up, and for Barry to return. The first plan would need to be: find out how Barry actually, died in the first place. And why? This timeline may hold other changes Barry and I wouldn't know about. For now though, with things finally in motion, I sat down in my chair in the living room. Waiting for Barry's return, I managed to close my eyes and doze off

for a bit.


	4. Chapter 3: Apparently they were right

Chapter 3: Apparently they were right...

Stay with me here… You ever have one of those dreams that are so real that you not only believe it's true, but you also seem to know what's going on, and who's with you? However, you truly don't know any of it, and forget most of it, the moment you wake up? As I slept in my chair, on the morning of the 25th, I dreamed I was back in 1952, I think. It was so real, like I was there... but I wasn't. No one else could see me. That or they were really good at ignoring me… but judging by the level of security that I could see, I would doubt that.

I was at some sort of compound in the desert. I figured desert at least by the sand dust prevalent everywhere. There was a long tunnel in the compound which lead to a giant reinforced door. A red glow emitted from a reinforced window, in the center of the door. Two armed guards stood by the keypad at the door. The door seemed to be keeping something very powerful trapped within. It was, for sure, the most secure door I'd ever seen. And at the door's center, it had a giant "S" design?

Along the wall of the corridor was the Hydra insignia. Hydra had long been a secret organization of evil, and it was exposed to the world through it's siding with the Nazis in the Second World War. The wall also had a tag for the corridor itself, "Area 51". I turned away from that corridor, and made my way down another. Heading towards an open door, I heard people speaking from inside the next room. One voice was saying, "We need to unleash it. It's now or never. It can stop the invasion, and claim rule to the planet, for Hydra!"

Another voice was not so sure, "He's never cooperated, and we've kept him too weak. He's useless at this point. We've wasted another savior."

At that moment, I had reached the partially opened door to the room. The door seemed to push the rest of the way open, but before I could see the people inside…

Knock Knock!

A knock at my apartment door had startled me awake. Barry had returned, and he looked mortified. I wanted to ask him if he had seen a ghost, but considering his recent death and all… even I found that joke distasteful. Phil and Jim were awakened by the knock as well. Jim entered the front room, where Barry and I now stood. Phil was waking up on the couch, still wiping the sleep from his eyes.

When Phil finally opened his eyes, and saw the not-dead Flash, standing before him; he realised I had told him the truth. He shouted, "The Flash! You're dead? I mean, you're supposed to be? I'm sorry, that's rude of me, I mean, I'm glad you're alive… but?... So I was wrong. Sorry, Officer..."

We all gathered at the kitchen table to hear what Barry had learned. Jim started making some scrambled eggs as Barry began, "The first thing that I did was read more about my death in this timeline. Two days ago Star Labs was receiving a supply of rebuilding materials, and tech, from Stark Technology. The particle accelerator, at Star Labs, exploded in this timeline as well, and Stark Technology was still aiding in the rebuilding process. Well, apparently, the shipment was ambushed, and I was killed when a bomb went off. An article said that I was running with the bomb, away from Central City, and that I was only moments from being at a safe distance to toss the bomb…

I remember this night you guys! From our timeline, man. I survived this! Officer, you were there too

remember? I had been suiting up as The Flash for a couple months, and I heard the ambush on a radio scanner. I ran in and I got the bombs out of Central City! I threw them in the Missouri River!

First that yellow flash appears in the Speed Force. Then the past is changed, with my death no less! And from an event I had previously succeeded! Something must have delayed me getting the bombs out... I think someone else is messing with the timeline."

"Oh my Eru, I remember that. I had helped escort the supplies from New York to Central City," I confirmingly muttered.

We all just sat there, eating our eggs, listening as Barry continued. If what Barry was thinking is true, the consequences could be far worse than anything we could have imagined. According to what Reed Richards and Tony Stark had warned Barry and me, back in 1952, messing with the past can cause Butterfly Effects. That basically means creating ripples of random changes, throughout the timeline, from the moments which are affected. I think… something like that. If Barry was right, we were in so much more trouble than we thought.

Phil was the first to finally speak up, "I could turn on the Bat-Signal, and get Batman to help us, maybe?"

"... The what?!" I was so confused, "The Bat-Signal?"...

Are you serious? I'm worried about terrifying Butterflies that will end the world, and Phil is holding a beautiful Butterfly of his own!... which I guess still falls into the "Butterfly Changes Can End the World" category, but for now I evaded that train of thought and asked again,

"What's the Bat-Signal!?"

"That's right, you're from the future of a, now, different timeline," Phil mocked. "My fault. So, back in October of '39, not long after I joined the force, I had tracked a local Maggia crime leader, Hammerhead, to an Ace Chemicals plant down at Gotham Harbor. He was running the local drug trade and had ties to the New York based crime lord, The Kingpin. They were using the plant to make chemical weapons, and I got a warrant to raid the plant one night.

My team was ready for action, but as we were going through the plant.. someone had beat us to it. The place had been cleared out. Bad guys knocked out and piled up. We heard some commotion from an upper level, and then some gunshots. As we made our way up some stairs, a man came falling from the railing above; down into a vat of chemicals below. Some of the chemicals had splashed on to Officer Harvey Dent. The burns disfigured his face. They even drove him insane. He was still in the hospital when he retired from the GCPD, December of '39.

As we finally reached the last office on the top floor, Hammerhead was sitting on the floor; hands bound and he was knocked out. Over on a window ledge sat, The Batman. Some on the squad thought he was a criminal, but I've always thought of him as a hero. Soon after that night, I made a… modification, to the spotlight on top of the station. I did get permission to install the new light though. From Commissioner Gordon… because of your backing."

"The first time I used it was early December of '39. It was the first time that The Joker appeared in Gotham, too. He held up Gotham Central Bank, and demanded to see, The Batman. I turned on my signal, and he showed up. After he took down The Joker that night, every time he's been needed, I turn on the signal, and he shows up... The Bat-Signal."

Barry and I couldn't believe our ears. Finally, something would go our way. Well, hopefully. Batman still had to believe me, but at least now we have a much easier way to him. All we had to do was use

the Bat-Signal, and when Batman arrives, convince him to hear Barry and me out. To help convince him, we'd bring Jim, and have him show his true abilities.

We waited until nightfall, and then we met on the roof of the Gotham City Police Department. Phil turned on the Bat-Signal, and then we waited some more. Eventually, The Batman arrived. He approached from the shadows saying, "The signal isn't for social calls, Phil. I know you know that. So what's this all about?"

You should know me well enough by now to know that it took me a while to get to the point of the meeting... I cut Phill off, and answered The Batman immediately, "Your dreams are real, Bruce. They're real. They're coming. We can stop them from coming. But once they're here, it's too late. I need you to believe me, Bruce."

"How… how do you know my name? And how do you know about my dreams?" the Batman then saw Barry, "The Flash? I thought you were dead?"

"We meet in the future, when you joined the Avengers. Please, Bruce, we need to talk. The fate of the world is in danger. Barry and I've seen the end, and we're back to stop it from happening. We need you, Bruce. Your dreams are real. They came from the sky… and they annihilated everyone."

Barry, Jim, Phil, and I were lead by Bruce, back to his hidden base. As he called it, the "Bat-Cave". There, Alfred, Bruce's long-time family butler, made everyone drinks. Barry and I explained to Bruce what all had happened, and why we had called him. I told Bruce that it was himself that told me what to say, when I found him in the past.

Bruce then explained, "The dreams I've had, seemed so real… The images of destruction and chaos. The feelings of pain and urgency...Something was coming to Arda... I didn't know what it was, but the images... the dreams... it was an invasion… they were terrifying. I have never experienced anything like them before. In the dreams, nothing survived... and it sounds like they were right…"


	5. Chapter 4: So what do we do now?

Chapter 4: So what do we do now?

Hearing that you had, in fact, been dreaming of the very real, future apocalypse of humanity, is the kind of thing that would cause a mental breakdown, in most… I would assume. That's at least how I would imagine reacting to such an occance. Bruce Wayne on the other hand, is not me. Or I am not him… either way, he is like no other. After coming to the understanding that he had prophesied the end of humanity, without missing a beat, he asked, "So what do we do now?"

Arriving in late August had been good timing for us. Barry and I were expecting our next break would soon be coming. We told Bruce of the original evolution of the SSR, and how Arda's greatest soldier, Captain America, would soon be created. Bruce was familiar with the newly created SSR from this timeline, but he wanted to know everything that we could remember about the SSR, and Captain America, from our timeline. Bruce didn't tell us at the time, I guess he wanted to make sure, but things wouldn't quite be the same this time around.

Originally, the SSR was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in July of 1940. He appointed, then, US Military Intelligence Director Peggy Carter as the founding Director of the SSR. Over its first year, the SSR attracted many great minds from across the globe. It also had recruited some of the very best soldiers that any branch of the armed services had to offer. By the start of September, 1941, the SSR had completed its most highly classified project, Project Super Soldier.

On the night of September 10, 1941, a group of select scientists and government representatives gathered at a hidden SSR base, in downtown Brooklyn. They gathered to administer the super soldier serum to SSR recruit, Private Steve Rogers. Rogers was selected personally by Dr. Abraham Erskine, the creator of the serum. Dr. Erskine had fled Nazi occupied Germany in 1939, and he was recruited to the SSR as a founding member.

Dr. Erskine had created a super soldier serum before. Back when he arrived to the United States, and once he had met with intelligence officials, Dr. Erskine warned of his most terrible creations. He told his story of being tortured, and used, by Hydra. Used to create flaming, android warriors, and advanced weaponry; but then eventually, a serum.

Hydra General Johann Schmidt had personally ordered Dr. Erskine to create a super soldier serum. The serum would be used to create a new breed of soldiers. They would be advanced in every way, and Hydra would use them to crush their opponents.

The first serum was completed in the spring of 1936. General Schmidt demanded he be the one administered the serum. Dr. Erskine warned that the serum could have many unintended side effects, but Schmidt didn't want to listen. He was insane, and drunk with the lust for domination. He wanted more power, and he forced Dr. Erskine to administer the serum.

The serum was successful. Schmidt gained strength, speed, stamina, you name it. However, he should have listened to Dr. Erskine's warnings. See, the serum worked by amplifying what's already there- It makes muscles stronger and faster, etc. But it didn't just work on a physical level, if you will. It also was influenced by morality. Because General Schmidt was a mad man, his insanity was magnified. While his skin turned a dark red, and he lost all of his hair; his face deformed to the resemblance of a skull. Furious over his physical transformation, General Schmidt executed most of the scientists present. Dr. Erskine was able to escape, and after a few years of hiding, he would flee

to the United States.

The SSR wanted to replicate the serum, but perfect it's potential complications. Dr. Erskine knew that the serum would always align with morality, and thus the most important variable would always be the subject themselves. He had finally found, and then recruited, Private Rogers from a local recruiting station in Brooklyn.

Rogers was small and asthmatic. He had previously been denied to join any form of armed service, repeatedly. Dr. Erskine, however, saw something in Rogers that everyone else had either neglected, overlooked, or ignored. In Rogers, he saw Captain America, before they ever created Captain America. He personally approved Rogers application, and Steve became Private Rogers.

The night of September 10th, they administered the serum. Private Rogers successfully became Captain America. At the experiment, along with Dr. Erskine, also present were SSR Director Carter, and lead engineer for Project Super Soldier, Tony Stark.

Everybody knew Tony Stark. He and Bruce Wayne were arguably the two most wealthy, intelligent, and influential men on the planet. Their stories were also remarkably similar. Tony's parents were murdered just a few years after Bruce's; while they were both still young boys. Tony would go on to become CEO of the family empire, Stark Technology; and like his father, Howard, Tony was a revolutionary.

Stark Technology weapons had dominated battlefields since the First Great War, from 1914-1918. After the alien crash landing, in 1920, and the technology that was recovered from the wreckage; companies like Stark Technology, and Wayne Enterprises, advanced the world, technologically, by decades overnight. Stark Technology, being the number one government defense contractor, became the first sponsor, and partner, of the SSR.

Bruce finished his schooling, and then he spent a few years studying across Arda. When he finally returned home to Gotham City, he would hardly ever leave Wayne Manor, his family estate. His family company, Wayne Enterprise, was stewarded by Bruce's father's, long time partner, Lucius Fox.

In 1937, after a couple of years of being a recluse, Bruce emerged from his Manor. He resumed control of Wayne Enterprise, and started a new Research and Development Division. The company also began working towards, and making fast strides towards, sustainable, renewable energies. Unknown to the public, Bruce had been spending his time, the past few years, completing the Bat- Cave. The Bat-Cave would be his base of operations, to eventually take on Gotham City's criminals as, The Batman.

Back to the night of the experiment, also hidden in the gathering of government officials and lab aids- a Hydra spy had infiltrated the room. After Rogers emerged from the fusion chamber, the spy attacked! Using a small, hidden bomb, as a distraction, the spy grabbed the remaining serum vial, and shot Dr. Erskine. With everyone disoriented from the blast, the spy began to make his escape.

He made it out of the building and into the streets. He carjacked a passing taxi, and he thought he was on his way. Until Rogers chased the taxi down on foot that is… I'm not kidding. Facing capture, the spy destroyed the last of the serum, and swallowed a poison capsule. His dying words to Rogers were, "Hail, Hydra!"

Captain America would go on to be the symbol of hope during the Second World War. He lead the SSR Commandos Division, the joint MI13 effort the Invaders, and he eventually would be a founding member of the final defense for humanity, The Avengers.

Days before Barry and I came back in time, Captain America would die at the first battle against the alien invasion, on US soil- in his home state of New York. The sheer volume of invaders was too many. In the end, Cap was not the only hero lost that day… not even close.

After taking all of that in, Bruce looked mortified. He stood up and walked off; pacing back and forth. "This is bad," he said, "This is really bad."

Bruce proceeded to explain to us how we were in far more paril than we could have ever imagined. Much of the same history of the SSR is actually, precisely the same. It's founding, and leadership. It's partnership with Stark Technology. However, the serum was completed in January of this year. Same players, same setup; however, the incident would play out far differently, and have an incredibly worse outcome.

Dr. Erskine was ultimately learned to still be an agent of Hydra. A sleeper cell embedded into the SSR. He personally selected, and worked with his subject, Private Steve Rogers. However, unknown to even Rogers, Dr. Erskine had brainwashed him. When Rogers was successfully administered the serum, as he emerged from the containment unit, Dr. Erskine proclaimed, "Hail, Hydra!" and Rogers programming took over.

He attacked the SSR scientists. Dr. Erskine was still killed in the ensuing conflict, as was SSR Director Peggy Carter. Tony Stark was able to flee, but he was hit in the chest by some stray shrapnel- which, in turn, caused Tony to invent his famous arc reactor, chest battery. The super soldier serum samples that remained were still all destroyed. When Rogers ultimately escaped, so did any chance of replicating the serum again.

Rogers fled to Germany. He has since come to be known as the Supreme Leader of Hydra, second only to the Red Skull himself.

"I have to go, now! Someone has to be doing this! There's no way this is happening!" Barry exclaimed. Barry did not take the news well… really at all. He began having one of those mental breakdowns we mentioned earlier... I tried to calm his nerves, but I was at a loss as well. We all decided to part ways for the night, and we would regroup back at the Bat-Cave in the morning.

Barry and Phil stayed at Jim and my place for the night. Everyone else seemed to fall asleep quickly after getting back, but I couldn't sleep. Not knowing that Cap was with Hydra. We need him. Not just in the Great War, but Arda needs Captain America, and everything he stands for. There had to be something we could do.

As I sat in the kitchen, about an hour had passed since everyone had fallen asleep; I noticed Barry woke up and started to leave. "Barry!" I shout-whispered, "What are you doing?" He was leaving he said. He needed to search the Speed Force, and try and figure out about the yellow flash.

Believing it to be the key, and having no other leads; Barry left to see what he could find. Knowing there was nothing more I could attempt to try and workout this late at night, I decided to finally try and get some sleep.

The rest would quickly be needed. As I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, a news bulletin began playing across the tv screen:

"Breaking News. Extremist group, the Mutant Liberation Front, lead by the mutant extremist Juggernaut, has attacked New York City Bank. The mutants have barricaded themselves inside, and a standoff with the NYPD is now unfolding. Two security guards have been taken hostage. We now go live to the scene..."


	6. Chapter 5: A sight for sore eyes

Chapter 5: A sight for sore eyes

As I slept, the door dream occurred again. It seemed to pick up where it had last left off. After falling asleep, I soon found myself back in that mysterious corridor. I made my way into the room with the people talking. Strangely, the people in the room did not really react to me. They did slightly look over at the door opening, but then just continued talking,

"Ever since the specimen landed in Smallville, back in 1920, we've kept it hidden, weak, and afraid. Every chance it's had, it's lashed out at us. Fifty-two agents have been killed by it over the years."

"I know, Dr. But what if it's our last hope? We've only seen a fraction of the species full potential, and it's still the most powerful thing that we have ever seen. We have to try, don't we?"

The older of the two scientists bemoaned, "Even if I agreed with you, that we needed to try… without the order to free the specimen… we can't. You know what they would do to us! At least down here we are protected from what remains of the invasion. But even down here, we are not protected from disobeying our employers."

Ring-Ring-Ring!

Just as I thought I was going to learn more about this hidden facility, and the alien species it contained, I was abruptly startled awake by the phone ringing.

Commissioner Gordon was calling. I answered the phone, and he asked me if I was watching the morning news? The TV was still on from the night before, and the coverage was still live at the NYC Bank. The NYPD requested backup to help contain the perimeter, and Commissioner Gordon was sending in me, Jim, Phil, and Detective Harvey Bullock; along with a small squad of GCPD SWAT. I got off the phone, told everyone else, and got dressed. Phil and Jim met me in the kitchen and we all left the apartment.

As we arrived to the scene, we were greeted by The Batman. Bruce had been monitoring the standoff as well. He arrived this morning, once he knew that we had been called in for support. The Batman briefed the team on the hostage situation. The two night shift security officers had been overpowered and taken hostage; and, unknown until recently, the extremists had also taken hostage a passenger bus. They took the bus driver, and the nine passengers onboard, into the Bank as hostages.

Bruce had hinted in his briefing that he was going to try and infiltrate the bank. I think Jim had noticed this too. "You're not going in there alone, Batman," he said. "I've known my time was coming... for a long time now. If you're planning on going in there against the likes of Juggernaut, Forearm, and Block Buster… I'm going in there with you."

Before Bruce even had a chance to object, and right there in front of everyone, Jim's body became engulfed in flames! The surrounding NYPD and GCPD officers all jumped back and pulled out their weapons. The Batman, Phil, and I stood in front of Jim, and convinced the others to lower their weapons. The journalist that were there all rushed to get the best shot of the flaming man! As they all rushed over, one started shouting, "The Human Torch!"... and that started to stick with the others.

The MLF must have seen Jim's stunt, and they immediately began shooting at the crowd of police and reporters. We all returned fire, until the MLF had retreated back from the bank's lobby windows.

"We need to get in there!" Batman exclaimed. Just then, a scream came from the bank's roof.

Juggernaut had taken a hostage to the roof, and he began shouting at the authorities, "The Batman and this, Human Torch, think they can stop us!? We are the Mutant Liberation Front! For years now, our people have been placed in bondage, and experimented on. We have experienced genocide, and have been forced in to a near extinction. A new day is coming! Banks, like this one here, have been secretly funding an ancient empire. One that has manipulated, and used mutants for centuries. No more! As the new dawn rises, so do the mutants!" With that, he tossed the hostage from the roof of the bank.

As the hostage was falling, sure to suffer a fatal landing, a winged man came flying in, and caught the hostage before impact! The man had long golden hair, and giant white wings… it was as if an angel had descended from New Genesis, to save the hostage.

Wait a minute?... I recognized this angel… it was Angel! Just as Angel came to the ground, with the hostage, two others, a man and a woman, approached from behind the crowd of reporters. Oh man were they a sight for sore eyes. The woman approached and stated, "My name is Jean Gray, and this is Scott Summers... and that is Warren Worthington. We are the X-Men, and we are here to help."

I wanted to give each of them a giant hug! In my timeline, I had walked the aftermath of the attack at Xavier's School for the Gifted; where the X-Men were based. Professor Charles Xavier had started the school, near the end of the war, in 1944, and the X-Men went public soon after, in 1946.

For the next half a decade, the X-Men would lead the fight against many of the radical mutant extremists of the world. On September 2, 1950, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, lead by the mutant Magneto, ambushed the school. No survivors were spared.

When I saw Marvel Girl, Cyclops, and Angel again… I was nearly overcome with emotion. Alternatively, very quickly I realised the X-Men are three years early on just their public reveal, let alone their actual founding. How? I knew that I needed to speak with Prof. Xavier... However, with the MLF still holding eleven hostages, that was going to have to wait.

I said to Jean, "Thank you for coming. We've got the bank surrounded, and we know they have eleven more hostages inside."

"How many MLF members are in there?" Scott asked.

"From our observations," began Phil, "and the bus's and the bank's security footage, we've identified Juggernaut, Forearm, Block Buster, Zero, and Blob. Plus a handful of new MLF recruits. They are armed, and as you've seen, are not afraid to take the lives of their hostages.

They've been in there for hours now, but they still haven't made any demands… Aside from Juggernaut's little monologue just then, we hadn't even been in communication with them."

"They're stalling. This is a distraction," Batman interjected. "Why else would they be going through all of this without making any demands?"

"I think Batman's right, Jean," Warren said. "My family has done a lot of business with the NYC Bank. The relationship my father has with the bank has allowed for... certain privileges. The bank has a basement level vault that is reserved for only 'select customers.' Most of these 'deposits' are… of the 'discrete' variety. Maybe they are stalling... while trying to get in to that vault?"

Jim interjected, "... Whatever they're doing, we need to end this; before anymore lives are nearly lost."

I agreed with Jim. The longer we stood out there debating why they were doing, whatever it was that they were doing, the more likely they would complete their mission. Luckily, I had an idea.

"Batman, you infiltrate the bank and try to gather Intel from the inside. Engage only in defense. Jim, you circle the building and protect from above. If they flee to the rooftops, light them up. Phil, you, me, and Angel will control the perimeter with the majority of the police squads. Jean and Scott, you guys lead the SWAT unit into the bank though the front door.

Once you breach the building, the MLF will engage. This will allow Batman to enter and see what he can find. If things get rough in there, Jim and Angel are the calvary. There are eleven hostages still inside. We get in, we get the hostages, and we get out."

Surprisingly, I mean… Of course the plan executed nearly to perfection. As Jean and Scott lead through the front lobby, the MLF began to retreat to the rough. Batman was able to enter the bank, and found his way down to the secret vault. Angel and Jim flew all of the hostages out and to safety.

However, the reason for only "near perfection"- by the time the hostages had been rescued, the MLF extremists had seemingly vanished? I'm not kidding. Somewhere between them entering the stairs on the ground level, and the rooftop... they disappeared.

Fearing a public panic, the NYPD and GCPD were able to convince the media that the extremists had been apprehended. After a few hours, we finished securing the area and gathering evidence, and we finally left back to the GCPD Station.

Back at the station, me, Batman, Phil, Jim, Jean, Scott, and Warren, all sat around a conference room table. Batman was debriefing us on what he had found in the vault. He had found that Juggernaut had in fact broken in to the vault; however, only one deposit box had been taken. Fortunately for us, Juggernaut left behind a lead from the box. It was a short letter, addressed to LexCorp CEO, Alexander Luthor Sr. The letter read,

"March 21, 1936

Mr. Luthor,

The specimen has arrived at the new facility. New rounds of experiments will begin in the morning. I will send in the results as I have them.

Dr. Nathaniel Essex"


	7. Chapter 6: I know where to find him

Chapter 6: I know where to find him

Still in the GCPD conference room, we had no idea what had happened to the MLF at the bank, and I couldn't let go of the wordage from the letter Batman found... "The specimen" and "Dr. Nathaniel Essex". I kept connecting those words to the dreams I had been having. There had to be a connection, right? I've never been one to much believe in coincidence, and this definitely felt like something much more.

All the sudden, the door opened, and the reunion with my past continued. In walked SSR General Nick Fury. He was accompanied by SSR PFC Bucky Barnes... but this was not the Bucky I had originally known. Tony Stark and SSR Officer Dum Dum Dugan walked in as well.

"Hello, everyone. My name is General Nicholas J. Fury, of the United States SSR Justice Department. I'm here because of what you all did today at the bank.

The world is changing. The world needs a new type of defense against these sorts of threats. The world needs heroes like you... to join the United States SSR JD. Fight for the survival of America, and for Arda."

I responded to Fury, "Arda is in far greater danger than even you realize, General."

"Oh I know, Officer… You know me well enough to know, and remember, that no matter what year you're from, I will always be multiple steps ahead." And with that, Fury turned and left the room...

I was speechless... I know it's hard to tell a story when you're at a loss for words, but in that moment- I had nothing. Fury, "dropped the mic", and just turned and left the conference room, with Officer Dugan.

Tony and Bucky stayed in the room. Jean spoke for the other X-Men in stating that they would speak to Prof. Xavier about cooperating with the SSR; however, their loyalties would remain, first, to the progress of mutant acceptance and rights. They had assisted against the MLF to show mutants policing other mutants, and to avoid a picture of "evil mutants" killing humans.

The X-Men were meant as a tool for progress, and not as an instrument of war; exactly the same as before. Ultimately, I still needed to learn how the X-Men are around now, in this timeline. However, with all of the X-Men now leaving; my questions would have to wait.

After a few moments of awkward silence, amongst those of us still in Conference Room 52D, I decided to just ask, "Before we go any further, I have to know. Bucky, what happened to you? I mean… you look like you've been working out or something? What happened to Steve?"

The Bucky I had known was the average Joe, young soldier, whom eventually became partner to Captain America. This Bucky looked like he himself was Captain America!

Bucky didn't even seem phased that I had mentioned knowing him before. But in this timeline I had never yet come across him. Still, he answered quite freely,

"After Steve was brainwashed into becoming the monster he now is, I volunteered for our experiment in July. It's not a permanent serum like Erskine's was, but it's getting better and better.

Next month we are rolling out the new recruiting ads for the SSR JD, and I'm the poster boy. Steve became the Supreme Leader or Hydra, and to beat him, I became, Captain America."

Tony chimed in, "And I'm Iron Man. And we need the Human Torch, and The Batman, to join with us. The public needs something to believe in. The Red Skull has terrified, and is conquering nations."

Phill interjected, "Iron Man? What's an Iron Man?"

Bucky stated, "Someone needs to stand up for the little guys. And that's why we're here "

I asked Bucky and Tony for a few minutes alone to talk to Jim, Phil, and Bruce. Once we were alone, I told them we needed to both join, and refuse... I mean, we needed to join the SSR, because we need to prevent the escalation of the war to the point of nuclear holocaust; but also, we needed to keep a distance from this SSR.

"Why would we need to keep our distance?" asked Phil.

I explained, "Fury said 'no matter what year you're from'. Bucky didn't blink when I asked him what happened to him. Tony shouldn't be Iron Man, yet,"

Phill interrupted, "What's an Iron Man!?"

I gave Phil a smirk and said, "They know about Barry and me. I know they do. Something is off about Fury. Until I know what, we have to keep our distance. I think we should help the SSR Justice Department as needed, but I think we should also stay with the GCPD for now. We still have a few months before we joined the SSR in the original timeline, and I think we should see how this plays out."

Batman began to chime in, and then was interrupted by a message from Alfred. He said, "Ok. Then we let things play out. But...wait. Alfred's sending me an alert. Something's happening…"

Just then, General Fury, Bucky, and Tony rushed back into the room. "We have to get to Gotham City Park! There's an emergency, let's go'!" Fury ordered.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on!?" Phil demanded.

"Vampires," Batman said. "The alerts I received. Multiple sources and sightings confirmed. There's a swarm of people in the park attacking innocent bystanders. The attacks are consistent with vampire lore. The attackers are biting their victim's necks. They're drinking their blood. There are also reports that there may be more at Gotham Harbor."

"Batman's right," Officer Dugan said, as he came rushing in to the conference room. "We just confirmed sightings at Gotham Harbor as well."

General Fury began directing our next moves, "Batman, you and Stark head over to the docks. Torch, you come with me and the Captain. We're going to stop the attack at the park."

With that, everyone set off on their mission… Except Phil and me...

In all of the commotion, and attempts by the SSR to sway the more "super" members of our team, Phil and I were left to kind of do our own thing... apparently. I looked over at Phil and asked him what he was thinking.

"What? Vampires didn't attack in your timeline? What are you thinking?" Phil sarcastically, and

clearly unamused, questioned.

"...No… No they didn't. Come on man, you had the Bat-Signal. Please tell me you know somebody for this sort of thing..." I was begging him.

"You know… well... maybe I do know a guy. I heard about a guy who was on the GCPD a couple years back. Most people say he was crazy, but… apparently he wasn't. He knew about these things; vampires, sorcerers, demons and such. He would be the only person I would think we should call."

"Really?! Who?" I asked him.

"His name is John," Phil said. "And I know where to find him."


	8. Chapter 7: And bring your spider

Chapter 7: And bring your spider

From what I was told, when Batman and Iron Man arrived at Gotham Harbor, the alleged vampires had all but been eliminated. They walked the pier in search of any clues. The bodies of maybe a dozen victims lay scattered across the docks. All of them with massive wounds to their necks. As the two continued searching, Batman saw them first.

On the rooftops were two swordsmen, dueling. They both appeared to be vampires, but they were fighting themselves? As Batman and Iron Man made their way closer to the fight, they overheard the vampires taunting one another.

"Listen, Daywalker! If you do not end your crusade against your own blood, then I will take it back from you!" exclaimed one vampire.

"You're not a pureblood! Your own people don't even respect you! It ends tonight, Frost" Daywalker had returned.

Still dueling, Frost had told Daywalker, "We have found a way to bring him back, Daywalker. You are no longer necessary for our plans. Our King arrives tonight, Daywalker. Bow before him, or meet his wrath!"

During the fight, a lone vampire had snuck up on Batman and Iron Man. As it approached, Tony was alerted to the approaching attacker by his suits artificial intelligence system, J.A.R.V.I.S. Tony turned and used the blaster in his hand, to take out the vampire. From close range, the blast basically decapitated the vampire.

The blast had also distracted Blade, and allowed Frost to escape. Blade jumped down to attack Batman and Iron Man! After a brief back and forth, Batman was able to stop the fighting. He was able to get Blade to listen about the attacks going on at the park. He threw himself between Blade and Iron Man, and yelled,

"We're on the same side! Whatever these things are, are killing people at Gotham City Park! We have to stop wasting time and get over there!"

"These things are vampires. You look like you of all people should know that. Bat...Man…" Blade taunted.

Iron Man questioned, "Vampires aren't real, Blade. Are they mutants? Is it some sort of drug, or serum?"

Batman declared, "I don't really care what they are at the moment. Right now, I just need to know how to stop them."

After a brief how-to, on taking out the vampires- in short, they are kind of like zombies, and a precisely placed blow to the head will do- Blade, Batman, and Iron Man finished clearing out the Harbor, and made their way to Gotham City Park. Iron Man used his suit to fly there, while Batman rode his motorcycle. Blade was picked up by a beat up old van, and took off.

Before Phil and I do eventually find our way to Gotham City Park as well; at the park, the SSR and

Jim, will have already faced an ancient evil. One that may be even more grave than the vampires.

SSR soldiers had arrived at the park ahead of General Fury, Captain America, and Jim's arrival. They had managed to contain the vampires to a small section of the park, and evacuated the rest of the park of any bystanders. As the three arrived, Iron Man had radioed to General Fury the instructions from Blade, on how to stop the vampires. As the SSR moved in on the remaining vampires, they were ambushed by a most ancient evil.

A man emerged from a line of red-hooded warriors. He appeared to be made of the same stone as the Park's walkways? He called himself, Gorgon.

"We are The Hand! And I am Gorgon! Surrender, and your deaths will be swift! You cannot stop us."

Bucky yelled back, "Not going to happen today!" and he charged the line of Hand warriors.

The SSR soldiers stormed the line behind Bucky! Jim hesitated… he then yelled "Human Torch!", and he became completely engulfed in flames! He raised his arms and flew into the sky! He flew down to land the first strike against the Hand, directly on Gorgon!

Gorgon was able to get away from Jim, and he grabbed some sort of cubed device. When he activated the device, a large Boom! was heard, over the gun fire, and a portal opened up in the sky, above the park! Just as the portal opened, Iron Man arrived at the park, and he was closely followed by Batman and Blade.

By this time, Phil and I had reached our destination, Josie's Bar. As we entered the bar, Phil saw John over in a far off corner; playing a game of cards with some other locals. "There he is, man. That's John."

We made our way through the bar, and as we approached the table, John somehow knew we were coming, and began, "I figured the GCPD would come find me eventually. Well, with vampires n'all runnin' around. Honestly, I started to think you guys weren't going to show. I was about to head off myself, after this hand."

Phil lead, "John, Phil Coulson, GCPD. You're right. What do you know about these vampires? We heard an update we met one, named Blade. Seems like a decent guy."

"Blade is no mere vampire, Phil. Blade is a Day Walker. He has the thirst, and the strength of the vampires, but he is immune to the effects of garlic, silver, and sunlight. He is a protector of man. His mission is to end the vampires… and reversely, their mission is to use him, to return their King." Explained John.

"Return from where?" I asked.

John continued, "From Hell. Apokolips, Hel, the Dark Dimension, the Underworld… It has many names, really. You may have heard of the vampire King before, Dracula? He was banished to Hell by a wizard; in ancient times, of course. The vampires have been trying for centuries to bring him back. An acquaintance of mine has infiltrated their ranks, over the years. His name is Morbius. He's been spying on a New York vampire lord, Deacon Frost.

He's gotten close to him, and has been sharing with me their plans for this evening. In fact, what time is it? Bullocks! We have to run! On we go!"

John got up from the table and hurried towards the door. As a side, he left a winning hand on the table… Fifth Ace included...

We left the bar and took John's car. On the way to the park, John called someone else to meet us there. He told them, "It's time, Devil. And bring your spider."

I had to know, so I asked John, "Who are you exactly?"

"Ah yes, we did skip proper introductions," he said, "John Constantine. Hellblazer, exorcist, con- man, at your service."


	9. Chapter 8: And who's that?

Chapter 8: And who's that?

When we finally arrived at the park, I feared it was already too late. The portal in the sky had allowed an influx of new vampires, and the park was littered with death.

Iron Man and Jim were providing aerial support. On the ground, there were two main concentrations of fighting. To the northeast of the park was Batman, Blade, General Fury, and Bucky; battling Gorgon and the Hand. While over near the south entrance, there was an out numbered squad of SSR soldiers; facing the charge of the remaining vampires.

We raced towards the park, and John plowed his car through the south gates; cleaning a path through a horde of vampires along the way. John, Phil, and I all rushed out of the car, and ran towards the soldiers. As we ran, I noticed two figures along the top of the park's exterior brick walls.

The first of the figures to move, it was a hooded figure in a trench coat. It leapt off of the wall, and over our heads; rushed towards the oncoming vampires, and began blasting some sort of webbing substance from it's wrists. The substance was quite effective in trapping and subduing the on coming enemies.

The hooded figure was incredibly strong and agile, and showed exceptional fighting skills. The other figure from the wall was also hooded, and was covered in some sort of red tactical suit. This one was holding some sort of whip. Once we got to the SSR squad, John ran over towards the remaining figure on the wall.

""The Devil of Hell's Kitchen. So happy you could lend a hand. Get it? Pun intended, of course. Gorgon is here... Do you know why?" John asked.

Daredevil briefed John on what he had learned, "I've been monitoring The Hand's activity recently. They've acquired some sort of advanced technology. They call it a 'Mother Box'.

They're working with the vampires to bring Dracula back from Hell. The box is what opened up this portal. I'm thinking these vampires are really just scouts. I'm thinking the real fight is just starting."

A figure emerged from the shadows along the park wall. "He's right," it said. "Dracula's arrival is upon us, John. We need to close the portal and keep Dracula trapped in Hell. We cannot let him escape."

"You're right Morbius. Glad to see you old friend. Where's Frost?" John said.

Morbius replied, "I was with Frost, Sinister, Blackout, and Andrew Bennett down at the docks. Until your friend, the Day Walker, showed up. He killed Blackout and Bennett. I'm not sure what happened to Mr. Sinister. I escaped, and came here to wait for you."

I finally interrupted, and demanded to know, "If you're a vampire, why are you working with Constantine? And, Devil, what are you?"

I was not expecting the answers I received.

Morbius explained, "I am Morbius, the Living Vampire. I am but a man, a scientist. I have a rare

blood condition that, years ago, I tried curing it with a radical experiment using bats. The experiment went wrong and I was cursed with the thirst for blood.

My physical ailments were cured, and I gained exceptional new physical abilities. But my mind was driven mad by a unique, insatiable thirst. When I first found the cure for that thirst, was with human blood, I lost control... John found me. He saved me from myself."

And the Devil simply stated, "I am the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. This is my city, not some demons."

"And who's that?" asked Phil. Pointing to the other figure, whom by now had stopped the vampire threat that had been charging us.

"That's, the Spider," answered John. "Now let's go, we have to close that portal before it's too late."

With the SSR soldiers leading the way over to the north east corner of the park; Phil, John, Morbius, The Devil, The Spider, and I, we knew we needed to get to the Mother Box, and to close that portal.

At the northeast corner of the park, Blade had engaged Gorgon in a sword fight. Everyone else was still battling Hand warriors. The Mother Box was exposed... I ran to grab it!

I ran as fast as I could! Behind me, John, Phil, Morbius, the Devil, and The Spider, all began to engage the Hand. The Mother Box was mine for the taking! Everything was about to be over… I thought...

Boom!

I grabbed the Mother Box, desperate to stop it. The portal thundered, and began to glow. A flood of vampires emerged from the portal!

"This is it!" John yelled. He pointed to a single, particularly hideous, vampire and warned, "That vampire is Varnae! He's the Herald of the Dark Lord, Dracula!"

With perfect cinematic timing, Dracula emerged from the portal. If it wasn't for the certainty I had, that in the coming moments I was about to die; I would have said it was an amazing sight to behold. The King of the Vampires, Dracula. He was every bit the terror that I had imagined. He flew down and took out three of the SSR soldiers within seconds!

As the fighting continued, General Fury noticed that some of the Hand warriors were wearing Hydra-logoed patches on their attire. He ordered the remaining SSR soldiers to fall back and contain the perimeter around the park. He and Phil fell back to hold the perimeter as well.

Iron Man and Jim flew down to directly help engage with Gorgon and Dracula. Blade was still battling with Gorgon in an open part of the park. Bucky, Batman, Morbius, the Devil, and the Spider, took out the remaining vampires in the park. John had seen me grab the Mother Box, and he ran over,

"Well done with this here! Now, we need to close the portal."

John took the Mother Box and began to recite some sort of spell… I think. His eyes rolled back, as he began speaking a gibberish I had never heard before.

As he continued with his spell, the sky darkened and storms rolled in. John appeared to have reversed the portal! It began to pull in, towards itself. Vampires were pulled back, as they tried to flee through! That's when Dracula saw John and I, and I figured that was the end of me.

Moments before Dracula had seen John and me, Gorgan had gained the upper hand on Blade. Jim flew over and grabbed Gorgon, just before Gorgon could land a fatal strike. Jim flew away with Gorgon, high into the sky. With Gorgon out of the picture, Blade and Iron Man had charged towards Dracula. When Dracula began to fly towards John and me, Iron Man took aim at Dracula... and he saved my life.

Iron Man shot a blast from his hand cannon and struck Dracula before he could reach us! The blast didn't seem to harm Dracula physically, but at the time it served to divert his priority to Iron Man. Dracula flew directly towards Iron Man, and just as Iron Man and Dracula were about to confront one another; Blade jumped between the two, and shoved his silver-sword through Dracula's chest!

"Get him back through the portal!" John yelled. "I can't hold it open much longer!"

Iron Man put his hands together; with a giant blast from his combined cannons, he sent Dracula back through the portal! Once Dracula had crossed the threshold, John completed his spell, and he sealed the vampires back in Hell!

Jim finally landed, still holding Gorgon. Gorgon had been burned badly by Jim's flames. He was unconscious but alive. Bucky and some SSR soldiers went over to detain Gorgon.

All through the park, the rest of the vampires and Hand warriors had been defeated. Batman, Blade, The Devil, and The Spider all left to clear the city of any remaining vampires. John gave me the Mother Box, and stated we would be seeing each other again very soon. I looked over to see that General Fury and Phil had returned, and when I looked back, John and Morbius had vanished...

General Fury approached me directly and declared, "Good work Officer! I'll be taking that box from here."

"Thank you, General. Please do," I said, handing over the Mother Box. "And please tell me you know what this thing is?"

"That's SSR intel, Officer. And you still haven't accepted my offer. It's only good until tomorrow. I'll see you at my office by noon, or I won't… Officer."


	10. Chapter 9: We had to follow him

Chapter 9: We had to follow him

Shortly after General Fury had walked away, I got with Jim and we left back to the apartment to get some sleep. Incident reports and the like can wait for the morning. Sleep was all I could do at that point. First the bank, and the early existence of the X-Men; then immediately after that, we get Dracula arriving from Hell. What is this? I couldn't take anymore for the night, and once I got back to my bed, I was out.

That night was the best sleep I'd had, since arriving back in time.

When I finally woke up, it was due to the smell of Jim making breakfast. I felt decently rejuvenated. I walked out of my room and went to the kitchen. Great… to my surprise, Bruce and John were sitting with Jim at the kitchen table. Last night after they had left the park, they had learned a great deal. They wanted to speak to me this morning, before I possibly went to see General Fury.

Bruce took the lead. He began explaining about how after he had left the park, he eventually encountered both John Constantine and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. The three then followed a lone Hand ninja, whom had escaped the park. They followed him back to a Hand safe house, in Hell's Kitchen. It was an old warehouse not far from Josie's. There they saw both The Hand and Hydra.

The Devil explained that Hydra had been supplying The Hand with weapons, and resources, for several months now. He had learned that Hydra was trying to find an ancient, lost civilization. The Hand, being itself an ancient organization, returned to Hydra both a wealth of knowledge and skilled warriors. The Devil had also learned; Hydra had infiltrated a covert SSR base, in New Mexico, and had secretly taken control of operations.

"How does he know about that base? What does he know about that base?" I interrupted. Could it maybe be that base? The one from my dreams? Hydra, check. Desert environment, check...

Bruce explained that the knowledge of the base was actually acquired last night. As the three were observing the Hand safe house, a box-truck was loaded with several pallets of wrapped freight. They heard the driver being given directions by one of the Hand warriors, "This load's going to the SSR base, in New Mexico." The driver confirmed, "Consider it done, Nobu."

"Did you figure out what they were shipping?" I had to know more.

John took the storytelling lead this time. Deacon Frost had also arrived at the safe house. He was accompanied by Mr. Sinister, Morbius, Baron Blood, and the Blood Brothers.

"Two seconds, please… who are they?" I was starting to feel like Phil at this point.

John explained that last night was merely just the most public attack, in an ongoing war that has been increasing over the past several centuries. Vampires had first appeared, on Arda, about 10,000 years ago. Dracula was the first of the vampires. He reigned on Arda, as King of the Vampires; until apx 1350 AD, when he was banished to Hell for eternity.

Before he was banished, he waged a war across Europe. Turning humans into vampires, by the thousands. As John put it, "The Black Plague, bullocks."

When Dracula was banished, he left behind a legion of dedicated followers. The Originals, as they came to call themselves, were lead by the family, Blood. As the generations of man passed, so too did those of the vampires. The vampires have never stopped trying to bring their leader back, and the humans have never stopped hunting the vampires.

During the Great War, the Blood family aligned with the Nazis. Baron Blood and his nephews, the Blood Brothers, are now aligned with Hydra, and apparently too, The Hand. John had learned, from Morbius, that Baron Blood is the one whom introduced Mr. Sinister to Deacon Frost.

No one really knows much about Mr. Sinister. He was acquainted to Baron Blood prior to Frost, and he's been working with Frost now for about a year. They have been working on some sort of serum they call, "The Legacy." Mr. Sinister frequently travels to Egypt, but that's about all that's known about him.

"Ok, so back on track… The Hand, Hydra, Frost, and some vampires, are all at a safe house in Hell's Kitchen. Someone named Nobu, is shipping something to an SSR base in New Mexico. Please tell me we are getting to the point?" What were they shipping? How do you know the base is overrun?"

… I really, really, was missing that feeling I had just waking up...

Thankfully, Bruce got to the point, "Just after the driver confirmed with Nobu, a Hand warrior found us. Well… he saw us. Before he could attack, Blade showed up and ended the threat."

Blade and his partner, and old man named, Whistler, had arrived at the safe house just prior to then. As Blade was moving in on the location, he spotted the warrior moving in on Batman, John, and The Devil. By the time Blade had finished taking out the hand warrior, the truck had pulled out of the warehouse, and was heading down the block.

"Awesome timing. Ok. So what about this Nobu? And Frost?" Where did they go?" I asked.

"Well… Blade really is a stubborn man, Day Walker. He really doesn't like vampires," John said. He was obviously not too anxious to get to the next part of the story.

"He charged Frost the moment he saw him! Straight for him. And... well, we had to follow him! He was running right to his bloody death!"

Behind Blade, the three ran into the safe house! A swarm of ninjas and soldiers attacked them immediately. Blade went right for Frost. John focused his efforts on the vampires, while Bruce and The Devil dealt with the soldiers and ninjas, respectively.

While Blade and Frost battled again, Morbius revealed his true loyalties. He tried ambushing Frost with a silver dagger. Unfortunately for Morbius, Baron Blood saw the attempted betrayal, and rushed over to snap Morbius's neck. The sudden event did, however, distract Frost long enough, to allow Blade to land a fatal blow...

He lunged his silver sword deep into the heart of Frost! The silver burned it's way over Frost's body; melting him to ashes. As Frost perished, Mr. Sinister, and the Bloods, all escaped into the night. Also around this same time, Nobu and a female Hand leader had driven away; escaping the skirmish.

With the remaining Hand and Hydra grunts eliminated, Blade and Whistler left the party. The Devil also decided to end his night. Bruce and John left to the Bat-Cave. Bruce wanted to research some of their findings from that night. John took advantage of Alfred's drink service, and… rested.

"And?" I questioned Bruce.

"And I was able to confirm there is an SSR base in New Mexico. It's a very remote location. It was started in 1918, during the Great War, as a test site for advanced weapons.

After the alien ship crashed in 1920, the base was basically closed. It remains open, but currently, only for a single project. The project files, even the project name, are all heavily redacted. Everything I found was. But on one form, I found two things, gamma radiation and super soldier.

The last operating officer assigned to the base is listed as US Air Force General Thaddeus Ross. His second in command is USAF Major Glenn Talbot. So that's what I know in regards to the base.

The reason I think it is overrun by Hydra... the only other word I found anywhere. Name, I found anywhere. LexCorp. One of the shipping receipts was from LexCorp. LexCorp weapons have been showing up on Hydra soldiers for months now. It would appear to me that the base has been compromised."

And that's why they wanted to talk to me; before I met with General Fury...

LexCorp was one of the initial supporters of the SSR. However, as we all know, when the SSR was officially sanctioned, it ultimately partnered with LexCorp rival, Stark Technology. After that, LexCorp shifted away from renewable energy projects, which it was once known for; and instead, increased focus on weapons design and manufacturing.

Bruce's fear was if LexCorp has partnered with Hydra, and if they have been able to compromise potentially both the USAF and the SSR… who knows how far up command had been breached? Perhaps General Fury, himself, was working for LexCorp, or Hydra?

It wouldn't answer everything that has been off about General Fury, but it would be a start. When I met with him, I needed to find out everything I could. Maybe more so, I needed to guard myself from saying anything that didn't need to be said.


	11. Chapter 10: It couldn't be?

Chapter 10: It couldn't be?

After breakfast, and the briefing, Jim and I got ready, and then sat at the kitchen table. John and Bruce had long left to go find the others from last night, and the time to get on my own way was getting near. Jim was going with me, he said. He also told me he was going to join the SSR JD.

"You told me yourself that I was destined to be a hero. To save people," Jim said. "How could I not join? I know that things are different, and not in the best of ways… but I know that I can still fight for justice. I have to. I mean, come on… why else are we still fighting now?"

Knock Knock

Jim got up to answer the door. It was Phil… this was becoming a habit, or maybe it already was? As Phil walked in, I joked, "We have phones, man!" Phil was in quite a serious mood. He came over to state his case for joining the SSR as well, "I think we should join the SSR," he said immediately. "Commissioner Gordon and Bruce can protect Gotham. After we locked up Maroni, the mobs have stayed in hiding now for months. They got that. The whole reason you're here is this, right?

If fate isn't the reason I'm involved, than I don't know what is... And really, knowing what you said you left in the future… what's the worst that could happen?"

Phil, like Jim, had made valid points. This is the mission... Phil then asked, "Where's, The Flash?"

That was a good question… with everything that had happened over the past thirty-something hours, I hadn't realized Barry had not yet returned. And it didn't really occur to me, until Jim clearly laid it out, "I haven't seen him since the night before the bank heist. Interesting… The Flash leaves, and the next morning, the MLF make a public attack, and then vanish. Then, a portal appears in Gotham City Park, and from Hell, vampires invade..."

"I'm not sure," I muttered. "He left to go search the Speed Force. He's searching for this yellow flash that pushed us off course, and had us arrive at this time. Since he left the other night, I haven't heard from him either.

Phil, it's funny you say 'fate', and then mention Barry... When we were planning to do this, come back in time, and I was the lucky one that got picked to go back... Barry said something similar."

I looked at my watch, "Wherever Barry is, and whenever, I know that he will succeed. He will come back. But right now, it's time for us to go. Phil you're driving… because I'm honestly not even sure I know where this office is."

Looking back, and knowing the men that I did, originally- there was never a chance that Phil or Jim wouldn't join the SSR.

We left in Phil's car, and drove towards upstate New York, to a remote SSR training facility. We arrived just before noon, and we were greeted by General Fury himself,

"Look at this... You've brought some friends, Officer. Please tell me you've all decided to accept my offer?"

"We have," I answered, "but first we need to talk about a few things."

"Yes we do, Officer. Quite a bit, actually. But for now, come meet the other members of the SSR Justice Department."

As General Fury lead us to a building on the compound, he gloated,

"I knew you'd come. I knew, all of you would come. I took the liberty of delivering your transfer paperwork to Commissioner Gordon, myself. You are all three, officially, and already, SSR JD Agents. Welcome."

We entered the building, and then made our way to a large briefing room. In the room was a grand oval table. Around the table, Bucky and Tony were seated, and they were joined by the other members of the SSR JD. General Fury introduced us to the rest of the team,

"Y'all already met Cap, and Stark…

This is Rex Tyler, aka "Hourman". Exceptional chemist. He was recruited to the SSR after his discovery of the vitamin, Miraclo. The vitamin has properties similar to the super soldier serums, but only increases strength and speed for an hour at a time. And no, you won't find Miraclo at any corner store.

Next we have Jeffrey Mace, aka "The Patriot". Ex-Daily Bugle contributor, he joined the SSR and volunteered for the super soldier program. After being selected, he was given the precursor to the serum Bucky was given. This version is incredibly potent, but still needs to be administered daily.

Now this smug looking, cigar smoking, fella here is, Edward Blake. But we all just call him, "The Comedian". I'm sure you guys will love him...

Those two All-American looking men, over there, are pilots Rick Flag and Hal Jordan. Flag lead the Suicide Squadron for the USAF in the Great War. Jordan is the youngest pilot to graduate at the top of his class in USAF history. Those two are the two best pilots in the world.

And last, but most definitely not the least… this is, Miss America."

"Who is Miss America?" I blurted out. While she did look familiar to me, there was no Miss America in the original timeline… Even still, I didn't mean to question that out loud.

"Fair question," Fury responded, "We don't know either. She seems to have amnesia, as even she doesn't remember who she is, or where she's from. I'll tell you what though… she's stronger than Cap, and no bullet, or even a needle, can pierce her skin.

We found her disoriented, causing trouble along the beach, in Star City. We brought her in and… can't really even verify if she's human; but she's been with us ever since… Miss America...

We call ourselves, The Commandos. We are the best that America, and Arda, has to offer. Our mission is simple… end Hydra- and their attempt at the Second Great War. And, of course, bring peace to Arda, and all that.

We will go anywhere, and we will accomplish anything, to achieve our goal. Now, Phil and Jim, get to know the team. Officer Dugan, show them around the compound. Maybe get everyone some lunch.

Officer, you and I still need to have that chat. Follow me."

General Fury lead me out of the conference room, and we made our way to another building in the compound. Following several turns and sets of stairs, we made our way to a long dark hall, with just a single office. As we reached the door, General Fury paused,

"I've got a surprise for you, Officer… Although, I suppose I'm going to have to think of a new nickname for you now that you're an Agent..."

While he was speaking, he began opening the door. As he was finishing his comment about my name, I saw a lone man sitting at a table in the room... It couldn't be?

"...Barry?"


	12. Chapter 11: We will be it's kings

Chapter 11: We will be it's kings

I couldn't believe it… Barry was back! And he's with the SSR JD… what? General Fury and I sat down at the table with Barry. Barry leaned forward in his chair, and he told me, "We've got some catching up to do."

… I was not prepared for the story I was about to be told. Barry had certainly been busy...

When Barry had left my apartment the other night, he used the Speed Force to return to 1952. Hoping to find some direction, he returned to the day after we had first left. Barry knew not to expect a big homecoming, but… he didn't expect for everyone to be gone either. New York was decimated. Barry went to the GCPD, searching for anyone, but there was no one to be found.

So Barry traveled further in to the future. He traveled to July 7, 1954, around two years from the start of the invasion. Barry found that by this time, the majority of the aliens had left Arda. Some aliens did remain; however, and their purpose seemed to be hunting any remaining survivors. Knowing the east coast was a wasteland, Barry traveled to STAR Labs in Central City, Missouri. He had hoped to find his old friends, Doctors Silas Stone and Raymond Palmer.

Barry had reached Central City, but before he could reach his old friends… he was abducted! Barry was restrained, and taken to an unknown location. When he finally came to, he appeared to be in an old hospital room; strapped to a chair. In the room, Barry was surrounded by advanced technology, and a few armed guards.

Beginning to feel panicked, Barry said he started thrashing about in his restraints, but not even his connection to the Speed Force could help him. A man approached Barry from behind his back. As the man spoke to Barry, his voice became distinctly familiar. Barry said they voice admitted to having been waiting for his arrival. The voice explained he had seen Barry return, back in 1952, and he had assumed it would only be a matter of time before Barry returned again.

When Barry had returned this time, his eventual abductors had detected his energy signature, and assumed that Barry would travel to Star Labs. They stopped Barry just as he was approaching the lab. They used speed dampening devices to immobilize Barry, and then a powerful sedative to put him to sleep. As the man was explaining this to Barry, he walked around to face him… It was General Fury!

"What!?" I shouted to General Fury, "What is Barry talking about!?"

"Just let the man finish, will ya?" General Fury snapped back.

Barry was being held by General Fury… and his secret team, Task Force X.

Nick Fury had never been one to trust anyone, or anything, and that included his superiors in the SSR. He would later tell me that in 1945, when the SSR ignored his opposition to using nukes, he decided he would create a ghost unit of loyal assets. General Fury named the unit, Task Force X. It was comprised of a handful of "specialists"; spies, and scientists, and they operated completely in the dark.

Well before the aliens had invaded, Task Force X has been established, and General Fury was using

it for his own intelligence gathering missions. He had set up a base of operations, in an abandoned hospital, just outside of Chicago, Illinois. Because of Fury's connections, Task Force X had the resources, and the technology, to remain hidden from the world... and eventually the invasion.

When the aliens did come, and the annihilation began, General Fury had the group wait out the waves of alien forces. As General Fury had put it,

"There was no stopping the aliens. The best chance humanity had then, was a hope for survivors. Once the aliens began to leave, Task Force X emerged, and began looking for others."

"But we saw General Fury leave Stark Tower… to go to the front lines at Gotham? He survived? How?" I started to question them.

General Fury interrupted me and answered, "Well… I was never really there, for one…"

General Fury then stood up from the table and began taking off his leather trench coat. If there were two things I never saw General Fury without, it would be that trench coat, and of course, his eye patch. I'm pretty sure he was born with them both on. After placing his coat down on to his chair, General Fury began removing his eye patch! Raising his eye patch revealed a robotic eye underneath! Fury pressed a release button behind his ear, and his face detached; revealing a fully robotic head!

"Oh my Eru!… Barry, what's going on, man?" I couldn't believe what I was seeing. General Fury was an android!?

When General Fury had initially created Task Force X, in 1945, he had secretly partnered with Tony Stark on a project called Project: Life Model Decoy. Stark developed life-like androids that could be programmed to mimic, and replace, high valued assets in the field. General Fury was ultimately the first asset to be successfully replaced by an LMD.

For the project's technology, the two had used designs, and research, that the SSR had stolen from Hydra. Stark and General Fury were the only people aware of Project LMD. In fact, no-one else was even aware that no-one else had even seen the real Nick Fury, since 1946. When Stark, and the General Fury LMD, perished at the last stand in 1952, the real Nick Fury was in Illinois, with Task Force X.

From their hidden location, Task Force X was able to read Barry's energy signature, when he and I first left back through the Speed Force. When the same energy reading was detected again the next day, General Fury had known that we had gone back in time, and that then, at least Barry had returned. He tried to get to Barry in Gotham City, but Barry had already left for further into the future.

Over the next, about two years, General Fury would lead Task Force X across America; performing search and rescue missions for any remaining survivors. Along with Fury were fellow spies Edward Blake aka "The Comedian", Natalia Romanova aka "Black Widow", and Clint Barton aka "Hawkeye". Over time, the group would add several more members.

When the group had detected Barry for the second time, they weren't going to let him get away again! General Fury had to let Barry know everything that had happened since we had left. He had to warn Barry about the other Flash that had eventually arrived...

I was just about to interrupt and ask how this General Fury is an android, when it's only 1941; as well as, who is this other Flash!?... but Barry started right in on the "big news", and I couldn't stop listening...

A few months after Barry and I had left through the Speed Force, another energy signature was detected that was similar to ours. However, it varied just slightly. When Task Force X arrived at the detection site a day later, in Central City, MO, they tracked the energy reading to Star Labs. There, General Fury breached the lab with his top spies.

As they entered the building, they began clearing their way through the many rooms. Eventually, The Comedian located a group of unknown people in a break room. Task Force X was able to use listening devices to spy on the unknown occupants. Two of the occupants were arguing,

"So where did you bring us then, Thawne? Because this is clearly not our past! You've taken us to another universe! Haven't you!? You lunatic!"

"Am I?" Thawne replied. "You see, our world was doomed from the start. And no, not just because of you, Victor. Sinestro was able to learn about this other universe, and I was able to find it! This is our home now! From the ashes of this planet, a new civilization shall rise. And we… we will be it's kings!"


	13. Chapter 12: Am I correct?

Chapter 12: Am I correct?

Spying on these mysterious occupants, Black Widow was able to confirm there were five people in the room. She had learned the names of three: Thawne, Victor, and Sinestro. General Fury gave the order for the team to breach the room. The Comedian entered the room first, followed closely by Hawkeye and Black Widow. However, the occupants proved they were far more resourceful than expected.

The occupant named Victor removed a green cloak to reveal an armored suit, far superior to Tony Stark's Iron Man suit. Sinestro was some sort of humanoid alien, and he had a power ring similar to the one that the Green Lantern, from the original timeline, had… Except Sinestro's was yellow. If they weren't bad enough; however, Thawne ended up being the worst. He was a speedster!

Thawne yelled for the other occupants to gather and escape. He then created an opening to the Speed Force. The two unnamed occupants, one was a man with long hair, and the other appeared to be another humanoid alien, leaped into the Speed Force. Sinestro was the next to jump in.

General Fury and Black Widow had trapped Victor from the portal, and we're keeping him pinned with suppressive fire. Thawne raced over and grabbed Victor, and then ran them back in to the Speed Force. The portal closed after they had all entered, and no trace was left.

Task Force X left Star Labs empty handed, and returned to the hospital. General Fury knew Barry would return one day... he needed him to.

General Fury had concluded that the invaders wouldn't go forward from that point in time. To keep their element of surprise, they could only go back in time. General Fury thought, If Barry were to return again, he could send him back with this knowledge as well. So he waited for Barry.

Now that Barry had returned, and having had received Fury's warning, Barry was surprised to hear General Fury say that he too was going back with Barry. Sort of. General Fury had one last LMD that he had kept secure for this very sort of moment. Every bit of intelligence that General Fury had acquired throughout the years was stored in the LMD's internal storage. He was sending the LMD back to help protect himself, and to give us an edge against these new invaders.

The Comedian was going to go back with us as well. He was the first in the room at Star Labs, and he had the best view of all five occupants. He was the best chance we would have at identifying one of them, if and when they did reappear.

So, Barry opened the Speed Force, and with The Comedian, and the LMD General Fury, they left back to 1941. Barry was attempting to get back to me, and let me know what was going on; but again, the Yellow Flash had struck while in the Speed Force! Barry and company were knocked off course, and they arrived a couple of months before Barry and I had first arrived...

Barry said the exit from the Speed Force was not pleasant. The opening appeared over the Pacific ocean, and a large island was nearby. Barry, the Comedian, and LMD General Fury fell into the waters below. The Yellow Flash, now known to be "Thawne", fell from the portal as well. However, he landed closer to the island, and quickly made it to shore.

Barry used his super speed to grab The Comedian, and the LMD, out of the water. He ran for the

nearest landmass, opposite Thawne. Once on dry land, the LMD used it's advanced locationing system to find where they had landed.

They were on an island off of the coast of Japan. Just as the three were starting to plan a way back to the United States, a large Boom! could be heard from the island where Thawne had landed. Barry described a portal, similar to the one I saw at the park. He said that it appeared above the island, following the sudden noise.

Before the three could react to the sight, the portal had closed, and the island had vanished. Knowing they would need some help getting home, LMD General Fury used his communications system to signal Allied forces in the area. The three were eventually picked up, and they were taken to see the real General Nick Fury, whom at that point had just officially been promoted to Head of the SSR Justice Department.

They met at SSR Central Command, in upstate New York. Barry explained everything to General Fury. They were able to access the treasure trove of intelligence hidden within the LMD. That's when the real General Fury decided to go dark, using the LMD in his place. He began outfitting the hospital outside of Chicago for the future Task Force X.

General Fury also placed Barry, and The Comedian, with the newly formed SSR JD Commandos Unit. The two would train, and prepare the unit to fight these new, world threats. Barry had told General Fury that I would also arrive soon, in late August. Until then, the Commandos were tasked with searching the Pacific ocean for signs of the vanished island. A couple of months before I arrived, the Commandos received their first sign. It would also become the origin for Miss America.

An energy signal was detected off of the coast of Japan. The signal matched a reading from the day that Barry and company returned. General Fury sent the Commandos, with a small SSR JD combat unit, to investigate the signal. At the time, the Commandos were the newly joined Flash and The Comedian, with Captain America, Hourman, and The Patriot. Pilots Rick Flag and Hal Jordan had just been selected to join the unit, and this would be their first mission. Tony Stark had completed, but not yet taken the Iron Man suit in to combat.

The Commandos arrived to the coordinates of the signal, and sure enough, they found an island. The island was small, and it had a heavily fortified compound built on it. Flag and Jordan piloted the unit beneath radar levels and approached the island. As they neared, an explosion ripped through a far corner of the island compound! The Commandos jumped to the waters below, and stormed the beach!

They made their way across the beach and gathered along an outside wall of the compound. As Captain America was giving the unit orders, the wall blew out just a few feet from the unit, and a Hydra soldier came flying out of the hole; landing limp several feet away! Captain America lead the unit in to the compound through the breached wall.

The compound appeared to be a secret Hydra and Hand base. Both organizations markings were covering every wall. Something was happening. The compound seemed to be under attack, but by someone else?

The SSR unit encountered little resistance initially. That is, until they caught up to the action. Once they entered a main gallery near the center of the compound, they saw her… and him, Thawne.

Thawne was with Victor, but their other three partners were not at the compound. Thawne and Victor were helping to fight the unknown woman. Barry said they were so distracted by her, the Commandos were easily able to go unnoticed; clearing out the surrounding parts of the compound. When the rest of the compound was secured, the Commandos moved in on the fight between

Thawne, Victor, and this woman.

She was able to keep speed with Thawne, and Victors bullets had no effect on her body. Her punches sent the men flying backwards. Sensing defeat was imminent, Thawne raced for a device mounted along the wall. Inside the device was a blue-glowing cube. The cube appeared to be the device's source of power. Thawne ripped the cube out of the wall and then raced over to Victor. The two then, and again, vanished into the Speed Force!

When Thawne ripped the cube from the device, it set off a chain reaction that started causing the compound to shake and crumble! The Commandos rushed back to their plane, which had been landed on the beach. Barry stayed to try and talk to the mystery woman. She was at the device trying to stop the destruction. Just as Barry reached her, the device exploded in a massive blue blast of energy!

"How did you survive that!?" I interrupted to ask Barry.

"I don't know," he answered. "I woke up a day or so later in a hospital bed, back here. Been here ever since."

General Fury answered as well, "Barry and Miss America were both returned unconscious, but alive. Barry seems to have made a full recovery, but Miss America still seems to be suffering from amnesia."

"Why haven't you asked her about the attack on the compound? See if that jogs her memory?" I sarcastically suggested to General Fury.

"If you want to be the one to tell the invincible woman that we found her at the island she was attacking, be my guest," General Fury fired back. "If not, I think it's best we continue letting her be on our side for the time being. Besides, she was alone on that island. Can't imagine there was much choice involved with that decision either. So until we know who, what, where, and all of that about her… she's Miss America, member of the SSR JD Commandos.

Now… Miss America aside, what really matters is finding Thawne. The Mother Box you acquired is a powerful piece of hardware, and we believe that that blue-glowing cube was the same one used by Thawne to move the island when we came back. I want to know why the Mother Box was in New York summoning Dracula, and what that cube is.

Honestly, I'm not too sure Hydra, The Hand, or both won't come looking for that Mother Box themselves. Let alone dealing with Thawne."

"So what's our next move then, guys? Are there anymore leads, anything?" I asked General Fury and Barry.

"Thawne will show back up. I wouldn't doubt that. And when he does, we will be ready. Now, what's our next move? A base in New Mexico," replied a smirking General Fury. "And something tells me that you might know something about that? Am I correct?"


	14. Chapter 13: I'm ready for the punch-line

Chapter 13: I'm ready for the punch-line

The three of us sat in that room for one final story. I told them everything that Bruce and John had told me about this morning. General Fury was already aware of the incident, and had prepared a unit to go and search the warehouse. He wanted to confirm, and verify, various details from what he had gathered.

"I still don't understand how you knew about the incident this morning?" I had asked General Fury. He just scoffed and smirked to me, "I may not know everything. But I still know more than you do."

We left the room and went back to the main building with the rest of the team. General Fury left Barry and I along the way. He was going to investigate the warehouse himself. Before leaving he told us to meet the team, and to get settled into our living quarters. He told us that later on tonight we would start "getting to work."

Barry and I managed to rejoin the team just as they had finished lunch. As we walked into the briefing room, Jim hollered out, interrupting Officer Dugan, "Barry!?"

After Barry went over to see Jim, and Phil, he then sped through the line of leftovers, a buffet of meats, cheeses, breads, and salad. By the time I got to the line there was a bit of some ham and cheese left, and some crumbs a wheat loaf. There was only, maybe, just a few scraps of lettuce left at the salad station. Thanks Barry...

The spread was set up next to a large, wooden, round table in the center of the room. As we sat down with the team, Officer Dugan resumed explaining the Commandos next mission. Off of the western coast of Amrum, Germany was a small island that had been purchased by an American- based company, Advanced Idea Mechanics. A.I.M. was created recently, in 1937, but has quickly become one of the bigger tech companies in the world. It has pioneered many advancements in cybernetics and artificial intelligence. A.I.M. purchased the island in May of 1939.

Recent surveillance shows that the island has been converted into a prison facility. Fences with barbed wire line the shores. Layers of fences. Guard towers mark gateways in the maze of chain links. At the center of the island are two large compounds, and a handful of smaller bunkers. Surveillance had photographed soldiers, tanks, boats, and planes. However, most horrifically, photographs also showed around fifty people, assumed to be mutants, being held captive, malnourished, and being forced into manual labor.

Officer Dugan explained that intelligence has verified that the soldiers are Hydra. A.I.M. Island appears to really be a prison camp for Hydra to experiment on mutants. Hydra had been suspected of operating these types of camps for a few years now. Several prison camps have been built across Germany, but no other camps have been known to have a concentration of mutants like this. I personally had remembered these types of camps from the original timeline, and would do anything to stop those atrocities from happening again.

Eighteen hours ago, Thawne's partner, Victor, was photographed arriving on the docks of the island. He was accompanied by, what appeared to be, robotic duplicates of himself. The robots were all made in the style of Victor's armored suit, and wore a similar green cloak. Just one of the photographs showed something in Victor's hand, as he was stepping into a Hydra vehicle. He was

holding the glowing blue cube.

"So when do we get to go to shutdown this prison, and confiscate that blue cube?" The Comedian interjected. "Because I'm ready for the punch-line!"

"Before we go over the objectives," Bucky began to answer, "we have one more new recruit to introduce. Professor Xavier has sent over a member of the X-Men to help with the liberation of the prisoners. Until they arrive, return back to your quarters and rest up. We head out at 21:00. I'll see you all at The Hanger at 20:00."

And with that, we all left the conference room to head to the living quarters. Barry took Phil and me to our new places, showing us around along the way. Once we had reached my room, Barry told me he would meet me back here to head over to The Hanger. He told me that The Hanger housed the most amazing piece of technology I had ever seen, but that he wouldn't ruin my "first sight" by telling me about it...

Barry left, and I closed the door behind him. The dormroom was a good size. I had a decent sized bed, two pillows and a comforter. There was a rocking chair in the corner, with a side table and a reading lamp. A nice desk sat in front of a large window facing back towards the city. I would eventually find out that on clear nights, I could see the lights of Stark Tower very faintly in the distance. And of course, a dual television and radio sat along the wall near the door. I went over and sat in the rocking chair just trying to make sense of all that has happened.

I needed to contact Bruce and let him know that I'd found Barry. I needed Barry to give Bruce the information he had. There was a phone sitting over on the desk. I picked up the receiver and dialled Wayne Manor. Alfred answered and forwarded my call to Bruce, in the Bat-Cave. He was with John, and they had just been going over the details of a robbery at Gotham City Museum last night, during the vampire attack.

"A robbery at the museum?" I asked Bruce. "What was stolen?"

"It was an ancient, tribal mask. The original owner found it near Narobia in East Africa. It's believed, by some circles, to belong to the ancient Wakanda nation, and that it's made from an unbreakable metal called vibranium."

"I'd assume that all means valuable. So I get it, but who would break into the museum to steal it?" I naively asked Bruce.

"It's not just valuable," Bruce ominously trembled. "Vibranium is not only a strong metal, it's a source of incredible energy. There's many ways, in theory, that even a small amount of vibranium could be used for the types of advancements the world saw when the alien ship crashed in Smallville! John and I have some leads we are tracking, but nothing solid yet. Now tell me... How did it go with Fury?"

We went over the meeting with General 'Life Model Decoy' Fury, Barry's travels, and Thawne. I told Bruce we were leaving this evening to go and take down A.I.M. Island, and that Thawne's associate Victor had been seen there recently. After mentioning the cube, John spoke up and said that he had heard of such a blue-glowing cube. He said it was called the Cosmic Cube, and that within it was a power far greater than that of the Mother Box. John said it was imperative that we retrieved it.

"You guys really need to meet with General Fury. You need more resources, and, well- we clearly need yours," I pleaded to them both. But neither wanted to yet. They both felt they would be able to do more work without having to "check in with General Fury."

Bruce told me to contact him after the mission, and that he and John were going to continue working together on their investigation. As John put it, "We've got a Bat, a Spider, The Devil of Hell's Kitchen, and a real Hellblazer on the job. Don't you worry, mate. What could go wrong?"

… Something always goes wrong, right?…

But I needed to rest before we left for the mission. I'd imagine the plane ride won't be very comfortable. Aviation has come along way, but nothing from the Smallville wreckage had been able to be recreated in the in the field. At least to my knowledge. However, everytime I think that phrase now, "to my knowledge," I just keep seeing General Fury's face telling me, "I still know more than you do." … Arrogant robot.

Nothing has gone to plan since Barry and I first came back. I'm not too sure if that means we are succeeding in our mission, or if it means we are failing… miserably. All I know is moving to the bed helped me decide, definitively, what I was going to do next- it was time to get some rest.


	15. Chapter 14: I've got a few leads

Chapter 14: I've got a few leads

"Thanks to that Officer, over there, I've found him. The scepter worked perfectly! I phased right into the base, and found where they're keeping him. Those scientists didn't have a clue. Cowardice lot! They're keeping him weak and afraid... All the better for us, when we unleash him on his capturers!"

I was hearing those words as if I was thinking them out loud... but it wasn't me. And I'm pretty sure they were talking about me? I was having another dream, but I wasn't in the base any longer... I don't think. As if I was blindfolded, I couldn't see anything. I could only hear someone talking about the base from my previous dreams.

And then I heard another voice starts talking to the first, "So how are we going to unleash the monster?"

"I'm glad you asked, Vandal…"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Before any more of an answer, and of course right on que; the sound of my alarm. It was time for the next mission. Hopefully when we get Victor, maybe then I can start getting some real answers.

I got out of my bed and went to the shower room across the hall. It hadn't dawned on me until I got back in my room to get dressed… a member of the X-Men was going to join us.

I still don't know how the X-Men even exist. They are several years ahead of their original formation. Angel, Cyclops, and Jean all seemed to be their right ages, and they were very much the people I remembered. But how? Barry might have an idea, or General Fury... but tonight I needed to focus on the mission at hand.

Barry arrived at 19:45, with Phil, and we all left to go to The Hanger. It was only a short walk from the living quarters. When we arrived, General Fury had returned from the warehouse, and was standing outside the entrance.

"Guns!" he shouted, as we walked up. "The Hand was sending guns to the base."

"How do you know?" I questioned him.

"They left a crate near one if the dock doors, at the warehouse. It was under some other crates that had uniforms, and M.R.E.s. Got to the bottom of the pile and the last crate had ten, specialized, weapons of mass destruction. They seemed to be powered by an energy that had a familiar blue glow."

"Did the crates have an address or anything that would help us with finding the load's destination? We can't let Hydra, and the Hand, have this sort of power, General Fury."

"Don't worry, Officer. I've got a few leads," General Fury assured. "For now, let's focus up, and get ready for action. Let's head inside. Something tells me your going to need a moment when we go in."

We entered The Hanger and I saw it immediately… the Helicarrier. It was magnificent. Of course there would be amazing aviation advancements I was unaware of, but man was this unexpected. To overly simplify it, which is a gross injustice, the Helicarrier is a cross between an aircraft carrier, and an oversized cargo plane. It is something special for sure.

"Hey! Come on, man! Let's go!" Phil shouted to me, as everyone else was entering the Helicarrier.

Inside the Helicarrier, there was a briefing room where the team had gathered. Officer Dugan was introducing the team to the new arrival from the X-Men, Jamie Madrox.

"My codename is, Multiple Man," offered Jamie.

"Why do they call you that?" Flag asked.

General Fury took over the briefing, "He's called, Multiple Man, for the same reason he's the ideal man to have on this mission… he's basically a one man army.

A.I.M. Island has approximately fifty mutants being held prisoner, and those prisoners are being held by around one hundred and fifty some soldiers and workers. We are sending in two teams, and Multiple Man could be considered a third."

General Fury broke down the game plan in detail. The Helicarrier would bring the team just outside of the island's airspace. From there, Flag and Jordan would pilot two teams, in smaller planes, onto the island. Once the ground teams had landed on the island, the planes would provide aerial support and then extraction.

Phil and I would be on Flag's plane, with General Fury. Our team was Captain America, the Human Torch, and Iron Man. On Jordan' plane, Barry would lead the Patriot, the Comedian, and Miss America.

"What about me and Jamie?" Rex interrupted General Fury to ask.

"Rex, your staying on the Helicarrier to provide logistical support. And in case Thawne shows up, or if the Speed Force comes into play, I can't have you in the field for more than an hour. And Jamie, well...Jamie, show them why they call you, Multiple Man."

Jamie smirked and then snapped his fingers. He then snapped them again, three times more. Before us all, Jamie had multiplied with each snap of his fingers. Beside Jamie there now stood four more exact copies of him!

"I'll be on both transports," Jamie quipped.

General Fury continued barking out orders, "Rick, when your load is empty, park on the beach and provide cover. Hal, you get back up into the sky and take out the heavy guns. If they get any planes up against you, radio for Rick.

Once we breach the island, rendezvous along the outer fence before moving forward. The Flash will lead Jamie, and the Patriot, to rescue the prisoners. Cap, you'll lead Miss America, the Comedian, Iron Man, and the Human Torch in the main assault against the two large compounds.

The enemy doesn't know we're coming, so everybody be ready. Our window for success is small, but I know we can get it done. If things do go south,"

Flag interrupted General Fury to tell him we were moments from the drop point. Everyone immediately left the briefing room to take their places on the drop ships. As Phil and I sat next to

each other in the plane, I asked him,

"Dude, we've only been in the air for like 2 hours! How are we already ready to drop? The Helicarrier can't be that fast?"

Phil scoffed and replied, "What? You thought it was big, beautiful, and slow?"


	16. Chapter 15: Saved my shootin' shoulder

Chapter 15: Saved my shootin' shoulder

The team took their positions in the two drop ships. As I sat in my seat, again going over the plan in my head, I couldn't help but to keep thinking about the dreams I had been having as well. They were more than just random, lucid dreams. The had to be. They seemed far too relevant, and far too ominous to just be random thoughts.

I tried listing any facts I could remember, but the more I tried, the less certain I became. Military or some sort of fortified base, sand, high level of security, a giant door with a distinct insignia, scientists talking about a powerful creature- and whether or not to release it, an organization that would be upset by the creatures release, and apparently I was invisible to the security apparatus? And now, someone else was gloating about finding said base; while using some mysterious scepter to do something to… me? Solid stuff here...

There is also that letter from the bank vault... So from that I can add to the list: a nefarious, shadowy corporation, and a named scientist writing, discreetly, about an experiment update to said corporation. Super, solid stuff here...

I also still can't let go of the fact that when Barry and I first arrived, after being bumped off course in the Speed Force; my clothes were different! Like, what? That tops the list, to my list of unexplained occurrences; along with the MLF vanishing at New York Bank, occupants from another universe- another universe, and the early existence of the X-Men...

"What is causing all of these radical changes!?" I thought to myself.

Tormented in my own thoughts, I was relieved to be brought back to reality by the sudden shouting of Flag, "We're here! Opening doors now! Let's go, people. Move!"

One by one we jumped from the drop ship. I jumped after Stark, and in front of Phil. You don't really look before you jump from a plane… at least I didn't. But once you're free falling, and you can see for miles in every direction, feeling the wind rushing at high speeds across your body… that's when the panic sets in... At least for me it did.

"Phil! I'm going to spew, man! If I do, I'm sor-"...

...Luckily for Phil, only some of his chute got hit. Thankfully for Phil's chute, we were all descending over the North Sea, so a good soaking was in short order. The Commandos had special chutes that would slow the parachuter enough to have the chute cut away before impact. Since we were dropping over an ocean, this helped ensure we wouldn't get tangled in our own chutes, and dragged to the bottom of the sea.

We all hit the water and then made the swim to shore. The photos of the island allowed us to find a blind spot along the islands western beaches. As we swam closer, I saw the drop ships in the sky overhead, moving into position. I'm not sure which one was spotted, or both, but moments after the ships flew by, an alarm system triggered across the island!

Two enemy aircraft could be seen coming from the island. Flag offered to stay in the air with Jordan, but Hal said to continue to the beach as planned. Flag was able to land the drop ship just as the ground team was coming ashore. The Comedian ran ashore and began cutting the first layering of

fencing, and we all entered the compound.

In the briefing, General Fury had explained that the two large buildings on the island were a weapons manufacturing plant, and a weapons storage facility. Once we passed through the outer fencing, Cap lead everyone but Barry, Jamie, and the Patriot, towards the two large warehouses. Barry, Jamie, and the Patriot all went southeast to the main concentration of mutant prisoners.

As we all approached the northwest warehouse, we began taking heavy fire from the enemy! An army of soldiers emerged from the treeline around us. We had marched right into an ambush!

Jim flamed on, and he and Stark and took to the skies! They lit up the treeline and exposed the enemy. Cap and Miss America charged the artillery units! The Comedian began working his way towards the manufacturing warehouse we had targeted. Unknown to the team, the Comedian had a second set of orders to execute at the warehouse...

General Fury lead Phil and me into the second warehouse. This one was the storage warehouse. Inside was everything from the basic supplies of uniforms, and M.R.E.s, to massive amounts of weapons and ammunition. We encountered a few soldiers guarding the warehouse, but they were little obstacle for General Fury.

"Just what I suspected," General Fury said. We were overlooking the section of the warehouse holding various machine guns and explosives. General Fury had scanned the inventory and located a grouping of several crates marked for shipment to the U.S.A.

"This is where the weapons are coming from. These are the same crates that Hydra is running back in New York," continued General Fury. "I found a wadded up piece of paper back at their warehouse earlier today. It was a shipping log that must have fallen off of one of the crates, but on it, it listed a port village in Amrum. We need to get to the Comedian in the manufacturing facility!"

General Fury took off running out of the warehouse, and towards the other. Outside in the distance, both Iron Man and the Human Torch could still be seeing setting the enemy soldiers a blaze. Just then, gunfire erupted from inside the manufacturing facility! We began running even faster, when General Fury belted out, "In coming!"

Boom!

A mortar round landed just behind us! The explosion threw me off of my feet, and I landed on my back several yards away. I sat up with a terrible ringing in my ears. Every other sound was entirely void because of that ringing. Dazed, I stumbled over to Phil. He was knockout but quickly came to. General Fury had already resumed his mission and was entering a side door of the manufacturing warehouse. Phil and I gathered ourselves, and continued running over to the other warehouse. Once we were inside, the situation became far worse.

Inside the warehouse, General Fury was in a standoff with Hydra Baron Blitzkrieg! A top Nazi officer during the Great War, Blitzkrieg became a Hydra Baron shortly after the Red Skull took control of Hydra near the end of 1936.

As Phil and I entered the warehouse, we could see Baron Blitzkrieg standing behind the Comedian, who had both of his hands up in the air. Baron Blitzkrieg had a gun pointed to the Comedian's head.

"General Fury, I should have known it would be you. Your reputation precedes you, spy. But your team is sloppy. I found this rat messing around with my computers. You shouldn't have come here, General," Baron Blitzkrieg taunted.

"Put the gun down," General Fury began. "I can get you out of here. You're fighting for a lost cause, Baron."

Baron Blitzkrieg scoffed and kicked the Comedian down to his knees. He aimed his gun to execute the Comedian, and just as he pulled the trigger… Barry flashed into the warehouse, and tackled Baron Blitzkrieg!

With Blitzkrieg now laying on the ground, seemingly knocked out, we all rushed to see if the Comedian had survived. He was alive! He took a bullet to his shoulder, but Barry had for sure saved his life from Blitzkrieg's initial aim.

"Thanks for the save, Flash," thanked the Comedian. "And you saved my shootin' shoulder! So we're still all good… cause I'm going to need it," he said; looking over to where Blitzkrieg was laying… was laying.

"We need to finish up in here, and get back out to the team," ordered General Fury. "Good work, Flash. How is the prisoner rescue going?"

"My communications system is acting up, so that's why I originally ran over to find you. Some of these mutants are so tortured, they're attacking us as we're trying to save them," Barry lamented. "We are saving as many as we can, and we only have one final bunker to search. Jamie and his dupes are leading the freed mutants back to the plane with Flag. I had come to get your orders on the prisoners who are combative."

General Fury hesitated before giving Barry his orders, ""Leave them. We haven't seen Victor, or the cube, and we are out gunned. We've gathered the intelligence we needed, and we have saved all of the prisoners that we could in the process. So, like I said, let's finish up and get out of here "


	17. Chapter 16: As best we could

Chapter 16: As best we could

Barry left to finish clearing the last bunker with Multiple Man and the Patriot. The Comedian, General Fury, Phil, and I were leaving the manufacturing facility, when suddenly General Fury spotted Baron Blitzkrieg! He was removing the Cosmic Cube from a device at the back of the warehouse!

"There's the Baron! And he's got the Cube!" General Fury yelled. Reaching for his communications device, General Fury gave the order for the rest of the team to secure the Cube at the warehouse.

Phil and I took cover, and we started suppressive firing at Baron Blitzkrieg. He had taken cover behind the device he removed the Cube from. General Fury and the Comedian began moving in on Baron Blitzkrieg's position.

Boom!

An explosion ripped through the side of the warehouse! We all flew back from the blast, and landed on the dirt and debris covered floor. As we regained our positions, Baron Blitzkrieg began taunting us,

"You will never get the Cosmic Cube, General Fury! Not with those fools! And now you will die with the rest of them!"

From the destroyed wall of the warehouse, swarms of Hydra soldiers began flooding into the warehouse; providing cover for Baron Blitzkrieg to escape with the Cube. We all fought back to try and follow the Baron, but we were too outnumbered.

That's when Tony Stark came over the comms, "Don't worry, General. The cavalry has arrived! Now, watch me work."

Tony and Jim flew in through the opening in the warehouse; unloading a blaze of fire, and bullets, throughout the enemy's ranks. Outside, the Baron was being confronted by Bucky and Miss America. Phil and I kept advancing, with General Fury and the Comedian, towards the others outside. We had to get the Cosmic Cube from Baron Blitzkrieg!

Boom!

Third time's a charm… they say. Or in this case, the third Boom! Is the charm. And by "charm", I mean the worst outcome we could have imagined… of course.

While Baron Blitzkrieg and Captain America were wrestling over the Cosmic Cube, Miss America had grabbed an incoming tank by the barrel, and threw it several yards away! Amazing feat of strength aside… she had thrown the tank into the island's main power generator, and caused an explosion that took out power across the compound!

"Regroup at the beach now!" General Fury ordered in the blackout. He then radioed to Flag and Jordan for a status update.

Flag radioed back that the rescued mutants were secured, but that he was still awaiting the return of

the Flash, the Patriot, and Multiple Man. Jordan, who hadn't been heard from since engaging with the two enemy aircraft, had continued to remain silent on the comms. The Helicarrier had also lost contact with Hal's plane...

General Fury managed to escape the warehouse and made his way to the bunkers to find the second team. Phil and I made it out of the warehouse as well, and we took cover behind the mangled remains of the tank Miss America had tossed. We provided cover fire for the rest of the team, as they retreated from the congestion of enemy soldiers outside of the warehouse.

Iron Man and the Human Torch cleared the way back to the plane, for the Comedian and Miss America. Phil and I yelled for Bucky to fall back, but he wouldn't listen... Not with Baron Blitzkrieg and the Cosmic Cube right there. He was determined to not leave empty handed. Hitting the Baron with his shield, Bucky made one final move for the Cube…

...Time always slows when you're watching the worst things happen, doesn't it?

The Baron dropped the Cosmic Cube and it hit the ground. I saw every turn of that Cube on its way to the ground. When it hit, it began to glow; that bright blue glow that always precedes something vanishing...

"Cap, get back!" Phill yelled. He started running towards Cap and Blitzkrieg.

"Phil, no! It's too late!" I pleaded. I tried grabbing him to stop him, but he was gone before I had a chance. He never even had a chance…

The Cosmic Cube lit up the sky with a remarkable burst of a blue beam of energy! A cloud of blue energy grew out of the Cube, and it quickly consumed Bucky, Baron Blitzkrieg, and Phill. Within the blink of an eye, the energy retracted, and they had all vanished!

With the Cosmic Cube gone, as well as Cap, Phil, I fell back to the plane with Miss America, Iron Man, and the Human Torch. We needed to get back to the base and start searching for Bucky and Phil! Running back to shore, I updated General Fury over the comms,

"They're gone, General! Cap, Phil, and Blitzkrieg all vanished with the Cube."

"Fall back to the plane," General Fury ordered the team. "We've done all we can, and we've lost Cap, Phil, Jordan, and the Patriot. It's time to take the rescued prisoners and get home."

On my way back, once I cleared the outer fencing and began crossing the shore to the plane, I saw General Fury and Multiple Man running from the treeline a few yards down the shore. Barry was standing at the door of the plane, while Tony, Jim, the Comedian, and Miss America were positioned inside the plane with the prisoners.

"I heard about Phil," Barry said as I entered the plane. "Don't worry, man. We're going to find him. We will." Barry sat with me as I took my place in the belly of the plane. Once Jamie and General Fury had entered, Flag departed the beach, and we left back to the Helicarrier.

The trip to the Helicarrier was the most 'quiet' I had experienced in a very long time. Everyone was either wounded, or still processing the events that… do currently feel like an epic failure.

After we were back on the Helicarrier, Barry and I were sitting in a briefing room, and I finally asked him, "What happened to Mace?"

He told me, "When we went into that last bunker, it was… well, that bunker had some mutants that they were doing some sort of really bad experimenting on. When the power cut-off across the island,

the bunkers security, and locks, were disabled. There were a few other mutants that we were able to rescue. But as we were clearing the final holding cell, they attacked. It was the Juggernaut!"

"What? I just saw him the other day at the bank robbery... How?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Yep. It was the same Juggernaut. For sure," Barry said. "I don't know how, or why, but he was there, and he was the one who lead the attack against us. He had a few of his henchmen with him too. There were two man-lion beast, things, who called themselves, Lion-Mane and Sabretooth. There was also a mutant that kept saying he was a Prince? OK...

In a room marked "X", there was a mutant that was one of the most, if not the most, savage creatures I have ever seen. Metal claws shred from his fists, and he sliced through anything in his path. I'm not all too sure it was a man, and not some berserk animal. Good thing Jamie can snap an army at the ready. He lost quite a few dupes, but we fought back as best we could. And we held them back long enough to get the prisoners out of there. We even had some extra help from a few of the mutants...

But eventually, to stop Juggernaut… Mace," Barry shook his head and chuckled, "Mace is crazy. He commandeered a nearby armored truck and drove straight into Juggernaut!"

"What!?" I laughed at the visual, but that still didn't explain how we lost Mace, "So then what happened?"

"The impact really just made Juggernaut more angry, and he latched on to the hood of the truck. Mace knew he really only had one option. The bunker was near the southeast shoreline. Mace drove that truck straight into the water. I ran out to find him, but the truck had sank beneath the murky waters, and neither of them ever returned to the surface."

"So he could still be out there?" I questioned. Although I did know that while not impossible, it was very unlikely.

"I guess so," Barry replied, growing more outwardly upset. "But General Fury and I waited for several minutes. He even scanned the waters for vitals… but nothing. But, I guess the same could be argued for Cap and Phil. No signs and all."

"Actually," it hit me like a bolt of lighting, "we do have a sign they're alright- Juggernaut! He vanished from the Cube the other day!... That has to be how they vanished! The Cube can somehow transport objects across a great space. Cap and Phil aren't dead! We need to find them!"

"We will," Barry assured. "As for Jordan, I think we will see him again too. I think it's about that time for him, you know."

"Yeah… I never knew how he got that ring, but maybe, I think, he will find a certain lantern to find his way home," I said, with a smirk on my face. And then current events reminded me of the more plausible reality,

"But what if that's another change in this timeline? I mean, there have been so many other changes…"

"Well," Barry paused before answering, "I guess we will find out soon enough."


	18. Chapter 17: Where' we goin?

Chapter 17: Where' we goin'?

The team debriefed back at the Hangar, and the rescued prisoners were taken for medical screenings, and to be transported for evaluation at Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted. After the debriefing, I returned to my room and tried to get some rest. I mean, I couldn't… not after that. But I tried nonetheless.

Miserably, I tossed and turned in my bed for hours. The Cosmic Cube had to be some sort of portal. I needed to learn more about the Cube, and the only person I'd encountered, whom seemed to have any real knowledge of it, was John Constantine. Maybe he would have a clue as to what happened to Bucky and Phil?

The cloud of energy consuming them kept replaying in my mind, over and over again. I couldn't stop replaying me calling for Phil to stop, and then watching him be pulled into the Cube as well. No Victor, no Cube, and we lost some of our best soldiers. We did save several mutants, and we did gather a great deal of intelligence… but at what cost? Barry and I didn't come back to refight the Second Great War, and now we've lost three heroes Arda desperately would need.

I did finally manage to get some sleep. Not nearly enough sleep, but it was without wild dreams, or other interruptions- so I'll take it. A call at my room's desk phone eventually woke me up. It was Officer Dugan calling me to another debriefing. I got out of bed and got myself dressed. As I left my room, I met up with the Comedian on the way to the debriefing, and I asked him,

"So, Eddie, back before all of this, what did you do before meeting General Fury?"

"I've always been a soldier, kid," he began, "but there was a time when all I really wanted to do was make people smile."

"What happened?" I prodded.

"The Great War and fascism happened!" He scoffed. "I enlisted to fight against evil.. It turns out, I'm really good at killing people." The Comedian's smirk slowly changed to a brooding scowl. "I never wanted to be what I became… but when the aliens came, and almost exterminated mankind, well… I finally understood the joke."

I asked him, "What was the joke?"

"I had despised myself for hunting, and killing men, because of someone else's wishes. Now I was hunting those whom did the same… 'chicken versus the egg'-stuff, kid.

We kill to stop killing, to avenge killing, but the cycle never ends. Good people vanish, and the worst of us live… to keep on killing. I'll see you in debriefing, kid. I've got to go get this bandage changed. Tell Barry I owe him a drink!"

The Comedian stopped at the infirmary before the debriefing, and I continued on. As I finished making my way to the briefing room, I thought about what Phil had told me before we came to the SSR,

"If fate isn't the reason I'm involved, than I don't know what is," he had said…

We've got to find them. It's my fault Phil's in this mess to begin with. I shouldn't have changed his future and got him involved in this. This wasn't his fate...

The majority of the remaining team gathered around the large conference table and Officer Dugan lead the final debriefing on last night's mission. There were several positives to be noted: Stark was able to gather advanced weapons designs for further analysis and development, Professor Xavier identified a few of the rescued prisoners as potential new recruits, and Jordan's plane had since been located.

"Where is it!?" demanded Jim.

General Fury walked into the room at that moment and took over for Officer Dugan, "Antarctica."

There was a collective gasp in the room, and then a deafening silence... Antarctica?

"The planes emergency beacon was finally detected a few hours ago," General Fury continued. "Barry, Rex, and Flag are currently in the air to go and investigate. Once they have an update for me, you all will have one too. Until then, let's just hope for the best."

General Fury then explained the connection between the islands weapons manufacturing operation, and the warehouse in Hell's Kitchen. Hydra and the Hand are working with Thawne and his associates; developing advanced weaponry, and experimenting on mutants and metahumans.

The Mother Box we recovered is still being studied, and the Cosmic Cube we still needed to study… but both of these items were used to harness tremendous energys, and convert those energies into devastating new weapons. These weapons have the potential to give Hydra and the Hand unrivaled dominance on the battlefield.

A.I.M. Island was the primary weapons manufacturing facility, and our mission did disable those operations. The warehouse in Hell's Kitchen was also shut down, and General Fury does believe we have greatly stunted the enemy's current pace. Our next objective would be to focus on the mysterious base in New Mexico.

The base itself was initial built by the US Military Intelligence Department. It was built primarily underground, and was made to even survive, any, natural disasters. When the Great War ended, the base was under the direction of USAF General "Thunderbolt" Ross. Shortly after the war, Congress trimmed the funding of the USMID, and the base, Fort S. Lee, was shut down. On the record it was, at least...

The evidence is sparse; however, there are enough dots to show a connection with the base, and a continued interest from LexCorp, Hydra, and the Hand. Several shipments have left the warehouse in Hell's Kitchen, and had been delivered to a gas station just a few miles away from the "abandoned" Fort Lee. The random gas station in the middle of nowhere- it's owned by a LexCorp subsidiary, Roxxon.

The team would spend the rest of the day recovering, as tomorrow we would begin preparing for our move on Fort Lee. As everyone left the briefing room, General Fury pulled me aside,

"I need you to get ahold of Batman. It's time I had a chat with him. I don't need him to come move in with us, up here," he said mockingly, "I just need him to listen to me for a few minutes. I placed some files in your dorm I want you to get to him."

"I'll see what I can do, General," I confirmed.

"And I want to talk to Constantine, too. Make it happen, Officer," General Fury ordered.

I returned to my room and picked up the phone to call Bruce. As I was dialing, I turned on the TV and changed the channel to the local news. It was an opinion piece, of course,

"Rogues break into Gotham City Museum after Vampires invade the park! Our city is, LITERALLY, going to Hell, and a group of guys is like, 'I think we should go steal some masks and stuff.' I mean, come on! And now with the Flash gone, we're supposed to trust we're safe because of some vigilante, Batman? That guy's got more problems than the criminals he beats to a pulp!"

..."Wayne Manor, this is, Alfred? How may I assist you?"

Turning off the TV, I greeted greeted Alfred, and asked for Bruce. He said that Bruce was resting from the night before and was not available. However, he would let him know to contact me when he wakes. I told Alfred I was sending over some files for Bruce to look at, and then hung up the phone. I took a deep breath and looked out of the window, at the city's skyline off in the distance. I decided to go out and get some fresh air.

Outside, I decided to leave the base, and go down to the city and get a drink at Josie's. Maybe some familiarity would settle my nerves? That, or at least Josie's famous drink of the day might. Somehow Jim must have read my mind or something, because as I was getting into a random jeep on the compound, he showed up behind me and smirked, "Hey, man. Where' we goin'?"


	19. Chapter 18: In due time

Chapter 18: In due time

Jim and I spent hours that night at Josie's drinking, and grieving over our lost teammates, and our friend. It was nice to be back at Josie's, and to actually sit and unwind with Jim. We had been so busy since joining the Commandos, we hadn't had a chance to really sit and speak privately with each other.

Over the night we shared many stories with one another. He told me about coming to the United States after the Great War, and about moving to Gotham City, and being inspired to join the GCPD. Jim is definitely one of the most genuine people I have ever met. If Bucky hadn't already been chosen to embody the mantle of Captain America, Jim absolutely could have carried the torch….

As we drank more, and my jokes landed less, I told Jim a couple of my favorite stories about him, and when he fought with the Invaders. I figured, if the Invaders were then lead by Steve Rogers, as Captain America, and now Steve Rogers is Hydra's second in command… well, I figured I was probably safe now, in telling old stories of the future.

Jim though, never did ask to know anything specifically about the future. I do think, maybe, he was aware of the potential for cataclysmic paradoxes with knowing too much about one's own future, and all that- but maybe, too, he just knew it was irrelevant now. I still think he enjoyed hearing the tales of his heroism, and the comradery of the Invaders.

As the night was nearing its end, we decided to leave Josie's and head back to base. Tomorrow would be a busy day of preparing, and we were going to need a good night's sleep after this evening. We called for an MP to come pick us up and safely, return us back to base. They weren't too happy about it… but they obliged.

Back at base, I got into my room and crawled under my bed sheets. I rolled my eyes behind their lids, and drifted off to sleep...

"Just kill the Officer! They've got no purpose, any longer! I owe it to them!" a voice was shouting.

I was dreaming again. The voice was so clear, but I could see nothing. Another voice asserted,

"We can't, Vandal! It would change everything! We need to put him back!"

"But Eobard, if we put him back where he's from, that will jeopardize everything as well!" a third voice demanded.

"Not if we use the scepter," Eobard answered. "It not only controls the mind… but it can erase his memories of everything. From the moment he arrived... And I can return him- at just the precise moment in time… no one, not even the Flash, will know."

"I will kill that Officer, Eobard," Vandal interjected.

"In due time, Vandal," Eobard said. "Now, Kang, bring me the scepter!"

The voices then went silent...

Next came a blinding flash of light! The light would then be followed by a feeling of being rushed across a vast distance, and at an incredible speed. The feeling gave me that automatic, jerk reaction you get when you're dreaming about falling. As I was startling myself awake, I did hear one last thing before fully regaining consciousness,

"I'm still here, right?"

After abruptly waking up, I sat up on my bed. "I'm still here, right?" What does that mean? These dreams keep getting more and more difficult to try and understand.

Trying to change gears, I started thinking about the rescue mission to Antarctica. I hope Barry's mission to find Hal is going as planned. The team can't take any more losses. Maybe if I told Barry more about these dreams I've been having, he might be able to start putting some pieces together? They mentioned "The Flash", so he's the only real lead I have… I just needed to get out of bed and start my day.

After showering and getting dressed, I went to the chow hall for lunch. The Comedian was down there eating too. I asked to join him, but he told me he preferred to eat alone… so we both did.

I don't think he meant it personally. Edward Blake has seen, and done, some terrible things. He's getting a chance to relive a decade of his life, and this time around it's notably worse. I think solitude is sometimes the best comforter when the world offers nothing but pain. And I think that is what the Comedian really sees that as the world's greatest joke.

We finished or food, and made our way to the briefing room. When we entered, General Fury and Officer Dugan were standing at the front of the room. Jim, Tony, and Miss America were already sitting around the conference table. Eddie and I took our seats, and General Fury began leading the mission prep.

Tomorrow we would be sending Iron Man and Miss America, along with an SSR field team, to the location of the abandoned Fort Lee, in New Mexico. The Comedian and I would stay here, at the base, with Jim and General Fury. After Iron Man and Miss America left the briefing room, with Officer Dugan, for another briefing with the SSR field team, General Fury told me, Jim, and Eddie to stay in the conference room. General Fury told Jim and I we were staying so that we could try and speak with Batman,

"I know he's gotten himself into a whole Hell-of-a-lot more more trouble than even he imagined," General Fury said. "He needs us just as much as we need him."

"I'm not searching Gotham City for no Bat, General Fury," Eddie stated.

"No you're not, Eddie. You're staying here and resting your arm. Lucky, that bullet didn't go where it was meant."

"Yeah, luck's a word for it. I guess," Eddie scoffed.

We finally left the briefing room, and Jim and I went back to my room. We ate some fresh fruit I had saved from lunch, and we talked about how we were going to try and convince Bruce to work with the SSR. After so long, we started getting anxious, and so we decided to just go to Wayne Manor. We grabbed a few things and took another jeep from the base. Bruce needed to know what happened, and little did we know- Bruce had his own tale to astonish.


	20. Chapter 19: About last night

Chapter 19: About last night

Knock, knock, knock!

Wayne Manor truly is a beautiful estate. The door I just knocked on, alone, I'm sure, cost more than I'd make by the end of the war. Stories in the Daily Bugle used to tell tales of elite parties held here; abundant, and extravagant, parties. Thomas Wayne was not only one of the, if not the, most wealthy men in the world, but he was also one of the most admired, and respected.

By the end of the tech-boom of the 1920s, Thomas Wayne had put more of his own money into rebuilding the Gotham City's infrastructure, than the government had in the prior decade- combined. He spent about as much rebuilding the city's schools, and hospitals. When Thomas and his wife were murdered, Gotham City lost its light. The Bruce I knew the first time, he always said he wanted to see the day where he could hang up his cowl, and for the city, try to do the same as his father had done...

Alfred answered the door and lead me, and Jim, down into the Bat-Cave. Bruce was doing some further research in the lab. John was with him, and a woman was also accompanying them.

"Master Wayne, your guests have arrived," Alfred introduced. Jim and I walked down the steep steps, from the doorway to the cave; down onto the main platform. The level was a central point between the various subsections of the Bat-Cave. Bruce had, in my opinion, the most amazing computer setup in the city, and it was set up, down on the main platform. Bruce, John, and the woman were all sitting at the computer.

"Hello, mates!" John shouted. "We've got a story to tell you. Meet, Clea. She's an old friend."

When John said, "old friend", I didn't expect he meant that more literally than figuratively. Clea introduced herself stating that she is the daughter of Umar, the most powerful Sorceress to have encountered men.

"Who, again, is Umar?" Jim asked… I was about to, too.

Clea explained, "The gods of Olympus, and Egypt, were drawn together at the dawn of civilization. They were forced to fight, and then imprison Umar in the Dark Dimension. If my mother was to ever become free again, she would summon a terrible evil to this world."

"What evil would she summon?" I asked.

"My father," she answered. Her voice trembled as she spoke his name, "Dormammu. He is a Lord of the Dark Dimension."

John interrupted, "The Dark Dimension, Dark Lords… again, it's basically like Hell for wizards. Now really, and more urgently, about last night…"

… It actually started the other day; shortly after John and Bruce had left my apartment.

John had taken Bruce to 177A Bleecker St. Apparently, this address exists, even though it's not listed anywhere, and John says it is the home of the Ancient One's apprentice, the Sorcerer Supreme.

Who's that, you ask?

I did too. John said he's, "The Master of the Mystical Arts. And trust me, the new one'll tell you himself, plenty."

John had encountered the Ancient One before, and decided to take Bruce to see what the Sorcerer may have known about the stolen artifacts. When the two arrived at the Sorcerer's address, they were transported inside the building; to the attic, specifically, and they were looking out of a giant, circular window, with an intricate symbol across the glass. The new apprentice, and Clea, then greeted their two guests.

After asking about the artifacts that were stolen, Clea said that the artifacts were taken for their vibranium, by a man who should already be dead.

"Already be dead?," I interrupted to ask her. "What did he sell his soul to the Devil, or something? What do you mean?

"Well…" John commented.

Bruce decided to get to the point for all of us. He explained that the leader of the heist was a man named, Ulysses Klaw. Klaw was a mercenary in a past life. Known for his thievery, and as much for his ruthlessness, Klaw was ultimately killed by an unknown assailant after he allegedly stole a shipment of vibranium. He stole it from a small tribe near the heart of East Africa.

"How do we know he was really killed? When was this?" I asked Bruce.

"I found records of the incident in Military Intelligence files that Alfred… found for me," Bruce said. "The vibranium was stolen in February of 1937, and Klaw was killed, while on the run, in May of that year. The files support that the government was aware of other threats to Klaw; however, they either did nothing to stop those threats, or perhaps even supported them off of the record."

"But it doesn't prove a conspiracy, does it?" I prodded.

"You're missing the point, mate," John bemoaned. "He was dead. And then, Mephisto, brought him back."

"What!?" Jim was exasperated. Again though, I was about to ask it too.

Long story short… The former Sorcerer Supreme, who's name was Kaecilius, had made a deal with Dormammu. The deal allowed Kaecilius a powerful connection to the Dark Dimension, which greatly increased his abilities.

In turn, Kaecilius would have the strength to reopen the connection, the Breach, between our world, and the Dark Dimension. That would also allow for Dormammu, and his wife Umar, to return to Arda.

Luckily, the Ancient One became aware of Kaecilius's plan. He left Kamar Taj, in the Himalayas, for the Sanctum Sanctorum, the home of the Sorcerer Supreme; to confront Kaecilius, directly. When the Ancient One arrived, it was at the very moment when Kaecilius had tried to reopen the Breach!

In the ensuing conflict, Kaecilius was banished to the Dark Dimension, trapped with his new master, Dormammu. However, before the Ancient One resealed the Breach, it took from Umar her daughter, Clea.

The Ancient One saw an unbelievable potential in Clea, and refused to allow her to be corrupted by

her parents. Clea was sheltered, and trained at the Sanctum Sanctorum. She was cared for by the Ancient One and its new apprentice, Baron Mordo.

Over the years, the Ancient One would return to Kamar Taj; however, the Ancient One would soon enough return again to the Sanctum Sanctorum. Until then, Baron Mordo protected the Sanctum, and Clea continued to train. Being from the Dark Dimension, her abilities were incredibly enhanced. She became very proficient with teleporting herself, and sending magical blasts of devastating energy.

So then we fast forward- to May 19th, 1937. GCPD Patrolman John Constantine is working his shift that night, and he stumbles across some unusual activity at an abandoned industrial lot. He entered the lot, and John said he witnessed a being- one that he described as, "The Devil", reanimating a person, from thin air. He said just after the person was made to appear, Baron Mordo arrived, and fought against this "Devil".

"The Devil", was an ancient demon named, Mephisto. He has been fabled throughout history, most notably as the Devil figure in most all dominant religions; however, Mephisto is an Elder God. Far before the dawn of men, Arda's magical properties created many extraordinary beings of great powers. Theses were the Elder Gods, and that magic is the same that today is used by the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme, and the other mystics of Arda.

When Baron Mordo and Mephisto were battling, Patrolman Constantine was mortally wounded by a stray blast of magical energy. As he lay there dying, he was approached by a man who introduced himself as, Lucifer Morningstar. Lucifer, a follower of Mephisto, offered to give John a second lease on life. The condition- a soul for a soul. John was spared by Lucifer; however, Baron Mordo was then made able to be overpowered by Mephisto, and was trapped in the Dark Dimension!

Over the next few years, John would act as an agent for Lucifer, and Mephisto. Doing their bidding across the city, and covering for their crimes. Until finally one day John left the GCPD, and renounced his loyalty to the "Devil"... Really, John left because of Clea.

The two had encountered each other at various times, most often as enemies because of Lucifer. However, and over time, the two became unlikely lovers. Eventually, and together, they confronted Lucifer to return John's soul. Clea was able to overpower Lucifer, and in the end- spared Lucifer his life, for the return of John's soul.

Unfortunately, or at least ultimately, Clea and John would go their separate ways. From the brief experience I've had with John, he is fairly insufferable… so I get it. Bruce also made the observation, "So that's why you never mentioned, Clea! When you were insisting we meet the Sorcerer Supreme!"

Clea stayed at the Sanctum Sanctorum with the Ancient One, and has continued to train with the current Sorcerer Supreme; while John, of course, has gone on to become the current Hellblazer he is. The two hadn't seen each other since they parted ways two years ago.

"Now, about last night. Honestly, I can't believe you two haven't yet heard mention of it …"


	21. Chapter 20: Who said I was alone?

Chapter 20: Who said I was alone?

After John and Bruce had explained to the Ancient One why they had come, the Ancient One used its powers to show John's memory- of the night he made his deal with Lucifer. The Ancient One used it's magic to show Bruce the reanimated man's face. Bruce called and had Alfred find the surveillance images from the museum on the night of the heist. Alfred was quickly able to locate the surveillance footage, and he sent Bruce one on the images of the criminals.

With the Ancient One's magic, Bruce was able to compare the image with John's memory. It was a match! The leader of the heist was Ulysses Klaw. With a firm lead, Bruce decided to return to the Bat-Cave to start tracking Klaw. Bruce had told me and Jim that John and Clea had spoken alone, and that he had hoped that Clea would join them; however, at that time, Clea decided to stay at the Sanctum Sanctorum to continue her training.

John and Bruce returned to the Bat-Cave for the evening, and they began working on finding Klaw. They quickly found that every lead brought them to an old bar, on the outskirts of town. Allegedly, the bar was the base of Mephisto's operation.

Recently, Mephisto had grown a sizeable piece of control in New York, and Gotham City's underworld. With the loss of many of the major crime families' leadership, due to the Batman, Mephisto has claimed ownership to many of the vacant territories.

While, ultimately, Mephisto is still a demon Elder God, he does value mankind. As John put it, "He knows with no us, he's irrelevant. He's been a God with no subjects before, and he doesn't want to be that again."

Basically, John and Bruce thought that Mephisto might offer up Klaw- if they didn't involve Mephisto in the GCPD's heist investigation. Seemed like a reasonable deal for the Devil? Well, of course it went wrong...

By last night, John and Bruce had completed their preparations, and were about to leave the Bat- Cave, when an unexpected visitor arrived- Clea. She had decided to help in case, well… as she retold saying it, "I knew they were dumb enough to try talking to that demon... I was there for when the fighting started."

So the three left the Bat-Cave, and drove to the small bar near Gotham Harbor. While they were staking out the building, Bruce noticed a familiar figure in the shadows of the adjacent alley. He flanked around the alley and approached the figure from behind,

"Spider, what are you doing here?" Bruce interrogated.

"Batman! What are you doing here?" the Spider returned.

"I'm here to speak with Mephisto," Batman started to explain; however, the Spider cut him off declaring, "Good luck with that. His minions won't let anyone speak with their boss. Lucifer Morningstar and a demon-mutant named, Azazel, are the two in charge of executing Mephisto's wishes. You might be able to meet them… but I wouldn't recommend it."

"And why's that, Spider," asked Batman.

"Because when one deals with the Devil, everyone always loses. Only the Devil and his minions win. And I didn't take you for the wanting-to-lose type, Batman," answered the Spider.

"We'll see about that," Batman continued, "maybe we can help each other. I still want to know what you're doing here?"

"I ran into some more vampires a while back," the Spider explained. "And I eventually tracked them back here. I've been following a lead on a man named, Diablo. Rumors say he's ancient! He sold his soul to Mephisto, and he's the missing link between the vampires, and the Hand.

I don't really know about his history, or even who he really is… but I do know that he showed up in New York about seven months back. Ever since then, the vampires have been increasing their efforts to return Dracula from the Dark Dimension, dramatically… like the other night. Remember, there were portals, and the army..."

"Of course I remember," Batman interrupted, and starting to get annoyed. "So you decided to come out here alone to fight Mephisto and his minions? Honestly you sound like you're twelve years old, kid? Who are you?"

"Come on, man," the Spider chuckled. "I'm basically an adult... You saw me in the field- I can hold my own. Plus, who said I was alone?"

Bruce told me it was then that he heard another voice in alley declare, "I'm the only Devil in Hell's Kitchen." The Devil of Hell's Kitchen was with the Spider, and together they planned to attack Mephisto and Diablo.

After explaining their missions, the two parties joined forces. Just as they were about to enter the building, sirens came blaring in the night! The GCPD was raiding the the bar too!?

Two SWAT vans, and five patrol cars came speeding to the bar, and multiple police officers took their positions around the bar. Mephisto's minions, and their vampire soldiers, began firing from inside the bar, out towards the officers! Batman, the Devil, and the Spider ran to the bar and entered through a back door. John and Clea helped shield the GCPD from the gunfire.

After Batman's first encounter with vampires, and Blade, he made several new weapons- specialized to fight the vampires. Blade himself shared some of his technology with the Devil and the Spider directly. They were all prepared to easily, fight off the vampires thugs, and focus directly on Mephisto and the other want-to-be devils.

Klaw was in the bar as well! Batman found him in a back room with Lucifer and Diablo. Azazel and Mephisto had exited the bar to fight John and Clea, and the GCPD, directly. The Devil and the Spider encountered a gang of Hand warriors and were busy with them, in the main are of the bar. Batman retreated back to the main area, with the Devil and the Spider, and the three eventually subdued all of the threats in the building

Outside, as Azazel was teleporting himself around the parking lot, John was able to put a spell on him! The spell would use Azazel's teleportation powers to send him to, and trap him in, the Dark Dimension. It worked! And it distracted Mephisto briefly enough to give Clea a clear shot! She blasted Mephisto with a beam of magical energy, knocking him to his knees!

Mephisto, surrounded by the GCPD, and now all of the heroes, smirked and taunted, "A sneak attack is poor form. This is just the beginning!" He then vanished before them all.

Bruce said that in the commotion, the Devil and the Spider were able to leave before the GCPD saw

them. Clea was able to grab John, and they teleported back to the Sanctorum. Bruce said he retreated to a nearby rooftop, and observed the GCPD inspection of the bar. After long enough, Bruce returned to Wayne Manor.

This morning, John and Clea returned to Wayne Manor to speak with Bruce. When John and Clea returned to the Sanctum, the Ancient One was missing! The new Sorcerer Supreme was badly injured, and a relic from the Sanctum was missing- The Scepter of Loki.

I immediately interrupted, "The Scepter of Loki?" How is it...why is it, all of these random dreams keep seeming to connect back to reality!? What is the Scepter of Loki?

"Loki is the Asgardian God of Mischief. He once used his Scepter to control the minds of those he sought to torment," Clea said. "Centuries ago, the Ancient One and the Asgardian God of Thunder, Thor, defeated Loki and an army of Frost Giants, here on Arda. Loki was taken to Asgard to be locked away, and the Scepter was kept here for safe keeping."

John then suggested, "I think it was a setup! There's no such thing as coincidence!"

Before Jim and I had arrived, Bruce, John, and Clea had been researching every database for any mention of Loki throughout history. They were trying to learn more about the battle centuries ago; however, all they had learned so far was that it had happened in Tonsberg, Norway, in 965AD. And that was only confirmed with the little information at the Sanctum.

"Asgardians? Betting those are more aliens. God of Mischief, Frost Giants… This is why General Fury needs to be brought in," I started making my case, "We need each other's resources… Things are only going to get worse. The more spread out we are, the weaker we become."

I continued on; however, I really didn't need to. Bruce had known the same as I did, and not long before Jim and I left for Wayne Manor- which was at General Fury's insistence…- he had already contacted General Fury. In fact, General Fury had been there in the Bat-Cave, the whole time Jim and I had been there...

"Great speech, Officer," said a clapping General Fury. "I knew I liked you… Bruce, John, Clea, Jim… The world is changing. Abroad, and right here at home.

Jim, you and Stark are the new faces of the Commandos and the SSR- until we find Cap. And Bruce… Batman, he's the unseen Knight of the D.A.R.K."

"The D.A.R.K.?" I asked.

John very proudly answered, "I got this one- I made it up! It's the… Defense Against Reality Killers. What do you think?"


	22. Chapter 21: You in here?

Chapter 21: You in here?

You know, Life Model Decoy General Fury really is an exact replica of the real deal. I only briefly knew him, prior to him deploying the decoy; however, I never would have known of the decoy, if I had not been told. Sometimes now, even, I forget he's just a robot. I also wonder if the real General Fury is controlling it sometimes, or if the LMD is fully autonomous. Either way, he loves proving he's always a step ahead.

General Fury had provided Bruce, and team D.A.R.K.- John and Clea-, with information about a secret location in the Everglades, FL. It was another shipping destination for the Hand, however this place would need some of team D.A.R.K.'s… specialties.

In some circles, the location was also called the Nexus of All Realities. The SSR had been monitoring a creature there that they called, Man-Thing. Bruce, John, and Clea would leave for the Everglades the next day. They were going to find the Man-Thing, and see what it knew about the Hand, and the recent attacks on this reality. John and Clea had heard of the location before, but neither had ever seen it first hand.

At the end of our meeting, General Fury returned with me, and Jim, to the base. The next morning Iron Man and Miss America would be leading the mission in New Mexico, and General Fury said we would be meeting with one of the rescued mutants from the last mission. The meeting would be to gather information, that this mutant was aware of, about another Hydra-island facility. The mutant was also said to be of great value to Arda, and our future… so no pressure on him.

Once I got back to base- I just ate dinner and went to my room. After the mind-blowing I experienced today, I just wanted to turn on the TV and zone out for the night... But of course, I couldn't. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. I wanted to be on the mission to Fort S. Lee. I need to be on that mission!

I went to go find General Fury, in his office at the main building. When I did, I demanded to be on the mission in the morning! Perhaps unsurprisingly, he was expecting my demand, and obliged…

He said that he and Jim would meet with the mutant, and that I was going to lead an SSR Unit on the ground in New Mexico. We would be leaving at 09:00, so I returned to my room and got to sleep. Thankfully I had another night where I slept… and only slept. I don't think I could have taken another wild dream last night. I woke up feeling a sort of refreshed feeling I hadn't had since the morning I came to this base.

The briefing this morning, before we departed, was in about an hour, so I took my time getting showered and dressed. As I was getting around, I started thinking about Phil. I couldn't believe how angry I was, at him. I still, constantly see myself trying to stop him from going in, but I couldn't… Why did he have to run in? I also started stressing about Barry. I really hoped that this mutant, that General Fury was going to meet with, had some truly solid information about this other island.

This base in New Mexico, maybe, would provide us with some answers as well? All I know is that Barry is across the globe in Antarctica, and we're no closer to stopping Thawne, or the eventual invasion of Arda. In many ways it feels like we're accelerating the decimation of Arda. It was time for the briefing, either way, and I took a seat at the briefing room table.

The briefing was lead by Officer Dugan, and Tony Stark and Miss America sat front and center. Stark had taken the losses of Bucky and Mace hard. More so than the rest of the team, I think. Not that anyone wasn't devastated, but Tony was truly shaken up.

He had told me once, in the original timeline, that he believed himself to be cursed. That everyone he ever grew to love or respect, was taken from him. At the time I thought that maybe he was just broken from the invasion, but seeing him now- maybe he really does believe that? He had an intense focus on his face. Tony was consuming himself in the mission, to hide from the pain of his loss.

But it was definitely not my place to psychoanalyse the man... and I knew that he was still able to execute the mission. We all are grieving. I just hoped he could pull himself out of it.

Our mission was expected to be an easy 'search and go home'. Officer Dugan and I would lead two teams of SSR soldiers behind Iron Man and Miss America. Fort Lee, from all surveillance analysis, was completely abandoned. The service station seemed to be just a service station, and personally- my last couple dreams weren't even at the base anymore. Maybe things have changed there too?

… I would find out soon enough…

The team left the briefing room and made our way to the Hanger. We joined the SSR ground team at the Hanger, and everyone took their positions in the Helicarrier. I still marvel at the Helicarrier… it's truly something spectacular. It took less than an hour for us to arrive a few miles from the service station in New Mexico. Everyone exited the Helicarrier, and we moved in on the service station.

Iron Man flew ahead, and he went into the station to investigate. As the rest of us approached the parking lot of the station, gunfire erupted from within the building!

"Everybody move, take cover!" I ordered. "A-Team follow me!"

Officer Dugan maintained the perimeter, and my team and I moved in on the station. Miss America ripped off, and threw aside, the front doors! She ran right inside, and into the gunfire!

Who is this woman!?

I moved along the outside of the building, and was able to enter inside. I kept my cover while I could see Iron Man clearing his way into an office behind the counter. That's when the gunfire stopped.

"Officer, you in here?" Stark shouted to me. "I think you're going to want to see this."

A tunnel?

The office had a trap door in the floor, which opened to expose a tunnel. The tunnel was just a few feet, and ended with a reinforced door. Locked of course. But- Miss America punched her way through the door! She's incredible. The opening from the doorway lead to a much longer tunnel…

As we began to head down the tunnel, Officer Dugan and his team had caught up with the rest of us. He told me he had stopped to inspect the workers who had fired at Stark. There were three bodies, and they all had Hydra tattoos on the nape of their necks. We needed to proceed with extreme caution. This tunnel could be the reason no activity was ever recorded at the base. Perhaps it is much more active than we were expecting.

This tunnel stretched for approximately two miles, and directly towards Fort Lee. When we reached the end, there was another reinforced, locked, door. Before Miss America punched through the door, alerting anyone on the other side to our presence- if they weren't aware already- the team paused, and me, Officer Dugan, Tony, and Miss America thought of a plan.


	23. Chapter 22: This had to be it, right?

Chapter 22: This had to be it, right?

Our plan would see us temporarily lose one of our big guns. If we were going to have to lose one, Miss America's speed outpaced Stark's Iron Man suit. Stark would drain all of his suit's power to focus all available energy on his hands repulser blasters. He would use then blast open the door. The amount of energy needed would cause him to have to cover for several minutes while his suit self- recharged. Not to mention that, once the door was opened, Miss America would be able to clear the immediate area much faster than even J.A.R.V.I.S. could cause the Iron Man suit to react.

From the moment the door was opened, and Miss America had passed through, I would then lead my team through the door; while Officer Dugan and his team would remain in the tunnel with Stark. Know one knew what to expect on the other side. For all of the gadgets and sensors in the Iron Man suit, none could read through the door, not even through the tunnel walls. The men in the station had Hydra tattoos, but what could Hydra be doing at Fort Lee?

Not wanting to lose any more time planning, Stark diverted the power in his suit and blasted through the door! The repulser lasers cut clean through the nearly yard-thick steel door, and Miss America ran past Iron Man, and into the other side... My team and I were right behind her!

The familiar sound of gunfire, immediately, erupted! And the gunfire was, of course, followed by the equally growing-familiar sight of green and yellow uniforms; whom were waiting for us on the other side. Hydra soldiers had taken position in the hallways extending from the door. The door sat at the head of a T-intersection of hallways. By the time that my team was engaging with the soldiers in the third hallway, Miss America had cleared out the other two halls.

Miss America helped us to clear out the last hallway, and when the area was clear, Iron Man and Officer Dugan's team joined us out in the crossing. The walls around the door were all marked with an area number, the same as my dreams… but unlike my dreams, the wall read, "Area 50"...

So the same, and yet... not the same as my dreams? But this had to be it, right?..

As we searched the area, we found that two of the halls were just dead ends of laboratories. However the main hall, leading from the door, it lead into another cross section of hallways- and more Hydra soldiers. After clearing out the soldiers, a far more dangerous threat presented themselves- but we got some unexpected assistance of our own!

A loud banging could be heard from a far off door, down one of the halls. It was another giant, reinforced door. As Miss America, and Iron Man, moved down the hall and towards the banging- from an adjacent laboratory, an armored-suit wearing person came storming out into the hall guns blazing!

"I am the Scientist Supreme!" The armored man shouted. He took an SSR ground trooper hostage, and began retreating back into the laboratory! Miss America began running towards the lab, when from another adjacent laboratory emerged a man with a shaved head and large circular glasses. He threw a mechanical disk at Miss America, and it locked itself around her neck!

"You will obey, Dr. Hugo Strange!" this man had declared. He held some kind of remote controller in his hand, and with the press of a button, Miss America was completely disabled- seemingly being

electrocuted while convulsing on the ground!

Iron Man shot a small missile from his shoulder, and the explosion knocked out this, Dr. Hugo Strange. It was after that explosion that the sound, that banging on the door at the end of the hall, intensified- until finally…

Crash!

The door went flying down the hall! Luckily, no one was hit by it… really that could have probably ended the mission right then and there. From the now opened doorway emerged a stunning, green, woman! Not only was she green, but her physique was hulking! She was both beautiful, and terrifying…

She charged down the hall towards the Scientist Supreme! The Scientist tossed aside his hostage, and braced for what he must have known was his end. I mean, the impact of her crashing into him, alone, must have knocked him out- let alone the other handful of fist 'fist-fulls' she gave him. Luckily for Dr. Hugo Strange, Iron Man apprehended him, and even removed the disk from Miss America's neck, before this She-Hulk got to him.

The green woman then approached us, and introduced herself as Dr. Jennifer Walters. She used to be an USMI scientist, stationed at the base. All she stated further, at the time, was that the work that they were currently doing at the base needed to be stopped. The base was being run by a mad scientist named Dr. Sivana, and that the base itself was set up as a trap! She said Dr. Sivana had been expecting a visit from the SSR, and that the majority of the bases continued efforts had already been relocated to another facility. Jennifer had been left at the base as bait for the trap. Dr. Sivana was planning to destroy the base when the SSR finally arrived!

"Who's this Dr. Sivana?" Iron Man questioned. "I've never heard of him… her?... What is this place?"

It was then that a voice came over the loudspeaker system inside the base, "Welcome, Strategic Scientific Reserve. And what's this- I get the added presence of the Iron Man, and this wonder woman? Dr. Walters, you and I both knew that they would come. And so too do you also know that we could have accomplished much greater things together... Unfortunately, you will now die with the rest of them!"

The base began to shake with a furious intensity! Dr. Walters told us, "There's a machine at the heart of the base that acts as basically a massive earthquake generator! Dr. Sivana designed it to collapse the base down into Arda's core, should the base ever need to be destroyed. We need to turn it off! I can get us down there, come on!"

… We all followed, with only a slight hesitation…

I had no idea who, or what, this woman was… but I felt like I could trust her. I've got no good explanation for trusting her- just a feeling, I guess. Dr. Walters lead the team, with Iron Man and Miss America at her side. We all made it down to the machine, at the heart of the base, and we were greeted by a fleet of drone soldiers! The Victor-bots that we saw in surveillance photos from A.I.M. Island, to be specific...

"Sentinels! Everyone, take cover!" Stark yelled.

The SSR had previously found old Hydra designs for drones like these. The designs were part of a project called, The Sentinel Project; however, no sentinels were ever actually, created…

"I call them Doom-bots," Dr. Walters stated. "A.I.M. developed them several months back, with some new scientist named, Doom. Victor, maybe? I can't remember his full name. I only heard of him from the other scientists I was working with."

Those Doom-bots really are incredible though… I mean, devastating as their target- but the sentinel's speed, strength, accuracy… even when compared to the Iron Man abilities, they were definitely still impressive. Fortunately for us, Jennifer seemed to only get made more angry with each hit from one of the Doom-bots. Talk about awe inspiring. And somehow, the more angry she became, the more strong, and violent, she became! She began charging the Doom-bots directly, and using only her hands to rip them to pieces!

While Iron Man, Miss America, and Dr. Walters took care of the sentinels, Officer Dugan and I disabled the earthquake machine. Once we had it disabled, the rest of the team finished clearing out the base, and then we all returned back to the Helicarrier.

Wow…

That was really all I could think, as I took my seat for the ride back to our base. I mean, a million different things were racing through my mind, but all I could really make out, and muster the clearity to actually say out loud, was- "Wow"…

"What was that?," I heard Dr. Walters ask me. She had walked over and took the seat next to mine.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you sit down," I quickly replied, failing to see the awkwardness of my missing a hulking, green woman sitting next to me whilst I mutter, "wow". She laughed it off, thankfully.

Once the Helicarrier was in the air, I asked Dr. Walters, "You know, there's a lot of seats on this thing... If you don't mind me asking, why sit here?"

"I was told to tell you something," she said with her sly, green smirk. "He said that you would come. I don't know how he knew, so long ago… but he told me you'd get me out of there."


	24. Chapter 23: Just a legend

Chapter 23: Just a legend

* * *

As we were returning to base, the Helicarrier lost communications with the Hanger. The last contact with the base was abruptly ended- the line just went silent. We neared the base, and as we did, we saw nothing but smoke on the horizon. It quickly became apparent that the base was under attack!

Explosions and mussel fire littered the compound. As the Helicarrier made it's decent, we started taking our own heat from the attackers. It was Hydra! How had they found the SSR JD base? And why be so brazen as to assault it head on? The Helicarrier's defense system was able to withhold the direct attack, and we landed within the Hangar.

Once we were on the ground, General Fury emerged from an office inside the Hangar. The compound was still under SSR control, but when the invasion began, the communications system had been completely destroyed.

"Why is Hydra attacking, now? Are they after the Mother Box?" I asked General Fury.

"Perhaps," General Fury pondered, "but I'm pretty sure this is more personal."

"Why do you think that?" questioned Tony.

"The assault is being led by Baron Blitzkrieg," began General Fury- before being interrupted by a collective, "What!?"

"I'm just as confused as all of you," he continued. "Jim and I were speaking with Jamie Madrox, and the X-Men's new recruit, Namor, when it all started. Ground and air attacks in unison! Then waves of infantry... I don't know how they managed to get their personnel, and equipment, into the area… let alone the country! But Blitzkrieg personally crashed our meeting."

"Where is he? And where is Jim?" Miss America pressed.

"Once Blitzkrieg broke into the meeting room, Jim grabbed him, and flew out of the building. Eddie, Jamie, and Namor all rushed out to the fighting as well," General Fury said, as he started leading us out of the Hangar. "I came here to try and radio the Helicarrier. When I realized that Hydra had destroyed our communications system, I waited here for your return."

General Fury lead me, Stark- who by now had suited up again as Iron Man, Miss America, and Dr. Walters out of the Hangar, and towards the fighting. In the sky, in the distance, there was a winged object soaring above the Hydra soldiers. It was attacking the Hydra soldiers? It was Jim! As soon as Stark saw Jim, he flew out to join him. General Fury found the Comedian taking cover, and we all hurried over to him.

"Hydra came, moving in fast, but luckily your X-buds had brought some back up," Eddie starting explaining. It was Jean, Scot, and Warren! Jean and Scott had taken out the majority of the artillery and armored Hydra units; while Warren and Jim had taken out the few Hydra aircrafts.

"What happened to Blitzkrieg!?" demanded General Fury.

"He's somewhere in the Hudson River," Eddie said. He told us that Jim had lost hold of Blitzkrieg, in the air, and that the Baron dropped down into the river. Jim's flaming abilities aren't exactly water-proof, so he returned back to the compound, and Namor had dove into the Hudson River to search for Blitzkrieg.

After Eddie updated everyone on the situation, we all moved to defend the base. Miss America and Dr. Walters raged across the grounds, destroying any opponent in their paths. They both are truly remarkable women. Tank rounds would deflect off of their bodies like raindrops dripping off of a duck's back. They made fast work of the remaining Hydra forces, while General Fury, the Comedian, and I provided plenty of cover fire. Just as we thought the ambush had been defeated, he arrived.

A crack of thunder ripped across the sky, and from a blue portal emerged a swarm of Doom-bots! Amongst the onslaught of sentinels were Victor, and Thawne. Victor flew through the sky towards Iron Man, and Thawne descended towards Scott and Jean.

Scott was shooting his optical blasts at Thawne, but Thawne was far to fast for Scott to hit him. Jean tried to use her telepathy on Thawne, but for some reason she wasn't able to penetrate his mind. Thawne moved quickly to disable the two. When Jim, and Warren, flew in to stop Thawne, he used his speed to create lightning bolts to take Warren, and then Jim, from the sky!

As Miss America and Dr. Walters approached Thawne, he began taunting us all, "You all are so pathetic! A flying fireball, a fancy suit, some wonder woman, and a hulking beauty," Thawne scoffed, " And lead by a replicant! None of you have any idea what's even happening to your world, right now. You have no idea what's going to happen to your world.

I thought about helping your side, when I first found this place. But I quickly saw the lack of… conviction. The type of conviction that is truly needed for what's coming. That's why I decided to help the Supreme Leader, and the Red Skull. They will do what is necessary!"

Miss America had tired of Thawne's monologue, and she charged him- yelling, "I've heard enough from you!"

While Miss America had the speed to charge and make contact with Thawne- she landed the first punch- after falling back from the punch, Thawne had enough space to speed away. He ran over to where Victor and Iron Man were still battling, and when Victor saw Thawne, he abandoned his fight to join Thawne in their escape.

Another crack of thunder, and Thawne and Victor escaped through another portal. The rest of the Doom-bots were destroyed, as were the remaining Hydra forces. Eventually, the base was clear of any, and all, threats... and we had mostly avoided any major losses. Namor had yet to return, but he had communicated that he was on his way back a short while ago. He said he had lost the Baron, but that he had found something that the Baron had lost himself. Something that we had been looking for...

After the fighting, Jean, Scott, and Warren left back for the X-Mansion, their base at Professor Xavier's School. Jamie stayed with us, waiting for Namor. As the rest of us had gathered in a briefing room, Tony stared telling us all a few interesting things that Victor had said in their duel.

He said that Victor had taunted, "We took away your first Captain, and now we have your new Captain!" Tony said that Victor also said that, "The other officer should be enjoying his time in the Savage Lands."

"What is the Savage Lands?" Miss America asked.

"Now... they're a coincidence, Miss America," stated General Fury. "Before that... just a legend."


	25. Chapter 24: You're late, Officer

Chapter 24: You're late, Officer

* * *

The Savage Lands are a legendary, ancient, secret oasis in the center of Antarctica- we thought. The SSR had, in it's archives, the diaries of a USAF pilot W. Byrd- who was the first man to have claimed to have found the Savage Lands. He wrote of seeing the icy tundra, of Antarctica, give way to a beautiful, tropical paradise. One that was from another time even. Byrd wrote of dinosaurs, and a plethora of other strange, or extinct, creatures.

No one else has ever been able to find this place. Many men have spent countless hours, and dollars, trying to find it. All have failed. Byrd himself was never able to find it again. Just his one, solo, accounting, and that's all that the SSR had.

"Just before Jim and I sat down with Namor," began General Fury, "I received word that we had lost communications with Flag, Barry, and Rex. Around the same location as the last beacon from Hal's ship."

"Last beacon?" Tony questioned. "What happened that made it the last beacon?"

"About the same time we lost contact with Flag, we lost Hal's beacon," General Fury answered, "We know where it was... but it's no longer actively broadcasting a signal."

"If we know where it was, and we don't know their status… and if there's a chance that Phil's alive, I've got to go, General Fury," I pleaded. "I've got to find him, General! And we need Barry! I'll go alone if I have to!"

"No need for that, kid" the Comedian chimed in. "The Flash saved my life. I owe him this, and then we're even. I'm coming with you… you kind of need a pilot too, anyways. And wouldn't you know, I happen to be an exceptional pilot."

The smile on Eddie's face, as he proclaimed his piloting skills, made me hesitate to accept his assistance, but I was desperate, and limited on options. General Fury allowed Eddie and I to take a jet for our mission; however, we would be the only Commandos on the search and rescue party. General Fury said he could afford to lose anymore of the Commandos, so he, Jim, Tony, Dr. Walters, and Miss America would be staying at the base. While Eddie and I are away, they would start following up on the information provided by Namor.

Eddie and I wouldn't be leaving until the next morning. After the mission to New Mexico, and then defending the base, we were all exhausted and needed to rest. Finally getting to lay down on my bed, I tried to shut off my brain and just go to sleep...

...Victor had to have been talking about Phil, right?… The Savage Lands… I have no idea what Eddie and I are about to get in to, but if there's even the slightest chance Phil's there, I have to try. And that's not to mention, again, the fact that Barry's currently Missing In Action...

What are the odds that the Savage Lands is more than just a legend? Or a hoax, for that matter. Whatever is down there- we've got the coordinates, and tomorrow we will find out. One way or another...

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

As my alarm rang, I woke up to turn it off and start my normal routine of getting dressed and ready for work. On my way out of the apartment, I passed Jim and told him that I would see him later that evening. Today was a big day at work, we had just finished the construction of the new research facility, and I was selected by my superiors to be the supervising officer for the opening security detail!

Of course, the Chicago traffic would be especially horrendous this morning. And even once I got to base, the occasion today called for a much worse parking spot than I would like. Tons of A.R.G.U.S. officials, and government representatives, not too mention tons of press, would be here for the opening. I made my way through the front security, and visited my supervisor's office.

"You're late, Officer," bemoaned my supervisor, Commanding Officer Amanda Waller.

"I know, I'm sorry. I-" I should have known not to try an excuse with her. Amanda Waller was more frightening than my A.R.G.U.S. boot camp instructor, Sargent Nick Fury.

"No time for excuses, Officer," she continued. "Now get down to the new Area, and help them finish preparing for Specimen 52's unveiling. It's going to be a frenzied day, Officer. I need you and your team to keep everything in order."

As I entered the new Area, which was located several miles beneath A.R.G.U.S. HQ- just outside of Chicago, IL, I had a feeling of deja Vu while looking at the corridor wall markings. The feeling was as if I had walked that same walk to the opening, several times before. The feelings became even more intense as I reached the reinforced door for Specimen 52's unit, the door that had a marvelous "S" insignia across it.

According to Waller, Area 52 was going to usher in a new era of mankind. An evolution superior even to that of the mutants and metahumans. She had told me that Area 52 would house a being- that while looking human, is anything but. That A.R.G.U.S. was experimenting on the being, to try and replicate its genetic make up. I asked her where the being came from, but she told me that, that information was classified, and beyond my needing to know.

Standing in the corridor, from behind, I heard the sound of rushing wind, and sparks of electricity. I turned around and saw a masked figure who had appeared out of nowhere! He quickly grabbed me and pulled me towards him; yellow sparks of electricity flashing from his red, glowing eyes.

The feeling of being pulled towards this figure must have triggered a feeling a falling, and I suddenly woke up in a panic!

"That was a dream?" I questioned out loud.

After catching my breath, I realized that I was back in my bed, at SSR JD HQ, on the morning of August 31. That dream felt so real, and different from my previous dreams. It was like it wasn't a dream at all, but maybe a memory? Jim and I had an apartment in Chicago instead of Gotham City? And I worked for A.R.G.U.S.? What in Eru's name is A.R.G.U.S.? I can only assume the masked assailant was Thawne?… but nothing about the dream made sense.

For now though, all that mattered to me was trying to find Phil, Hal, and Barry's missing rescue team. I got myself together and made my way to the Hangar to meet up with Eddie. Approaching the Hangar, I noticed a small SSR infantry unit enter before me. They were lead by Officer Dugan, and the unit included a man wearing a rather eccentric fur vest…

"Hey there, Officer!" Eddie yelled out from behind me. He was jogging to catch up with me. "Looks like we got us a little company, don't it? What was up with that guys vest, though?"

We entered the Hangar and Officer Dugan introduced us to SSR Officer Sergei Kravinoff. Known as Officer Kraven, Kravinoff is a decorated Army veteran. He apparently has more than a few stories of his marksmanship from the Great War, but he is perhaps more well known as, Kraven the Hunter, world-renowned big game sportsman! Officer Dugan thought that if the legends of the Savage Lands turned out to be true, Officer Kraven's specialties could prove helpful.

Officer Kraven, and a small team of SSR soldiers, were going to accompany Eddie and I on our mission. We all boarded a mid-sized passenger jet, the SSR called it a Quinjet, and we prepared for the long flight. The SSR unit included a co-pilot for Eddie, SSR Private John Stewart. The flight to Antarctica was going to take several hours, so I took my seat on the Quinjet and stared off at the passing clouds- hoping we find everyone we're searching for. I just hope they're OK.


	26. Chapter 25: A few days?

Chapter 25: A few days?

* * *

Once we were up in the air, and well on our way to the coordinates, I used a phone to call Wayne Manor. I had Alfred forward my call to Bruce, down in the Everglades. Bruce was actually on his way back to Gotham just then. He told me that he, John, and Clea had found the Man-Thing, and that they also had ran into some trouble last night.

Bruce didn't say much about it- just that there were some transdimensional squid-looking things, and a confused "Hell-man"...John and Clea had stayed down in the Everglades for the time being. Bruce told me that once I had returned back to Gotham City he would brief me on the events in the Everglades.

I then caught up Bruce on the base in New Mexico, and my current crusade to Antarctica. Bruce told me that after what he saw last night, he was ready to talk more with General Fury about an expanded role within the JD Commandos. He said the monsters that were unleashed last night were like nothing he had encountered before. I could tell by his tone that he was serious- he almost sounded scared? I wished Bruce a safe return to Gotham, and we ended our phone call.

What monsters could Bruce be talking about? Whatever it was, I hope it was nothing like the monsters that we were, maybe, about to encounter!

Just before we were to reach the coordinates, the Quinjet hit a terribly rough patch of turbulence. The jet began shaking, and tossing about! The sky quickly darkened, and ripples of lightning could be seen in the surrounding darkness. Where just moments before, one could clearly see the icy white landscape of Antarctica below; now, all that could be seen were the increasing flashes of lighting!

Electrical malfunctions started to plague the Quinjet. Everything from the altimeter to the air conditioning was acting erratically. All of the clocks within the Quinjet, and on all of our equipment, stopped working at the precise moment that the turbulence started. Before anyone had a moment to process our current complications, the Quinjet suddenly began to nosedive towards the ground below! As we began our descent, I quickly started a timer on the wristwatch I was wearing. I knew that it was going to be important to have some way of tracking time, and the timer was the only working piece of equipment that I had in that moment!

Clearing through the clouds, the Quinjet appeared to be barreling towards a frozen lake. Eddie and Private Stewart tried their best to regain control of the aircraft, but whatever that storm was- it completely ruined the electronics on the Quinjet! As the Quinjet's nose was set to smash into the frozen waters below- the Quinjet passed through unscathed! It was as if the ice was merely just another layer of clouds? And on the other side… the Savage Lands!

After clearing through the "cloud", the Quinjet stabilized, and all systems came back online? The sky returned to a sunny, clear, blue, and the ground below us, now, was a lush and prehistoric oasis. There were mountains, jungels, beaches, and rivers. Immediately confirmable- Pterosaurs, large flying dinosaurs, could be seen soaring in the horizon!

"Oh my Eru, we're here," Eddie declared over the Quinjet's communications system.

This "Kraven the Hunter"-guy was definitely dedicated to his craft. After Eddie declared we had arrived, Kraven began cackling, "Let the hunt begin!"

The irony of his statement... almost immediately after it's muttering- an incoming missile blasted the starboard-side wing of the Quinjet! An engine was hit, and the Quinjet began another nosediving decent! This time we were probably going to end with a bit more of an impact. Everyone gathered at the stern of the craft and took a parachute. The plan was to jump from the Quinjet, and then track back to the wreckage to salvage the remaining supplies.

One by one we all jumped from the crashing Quinjet. Officer Kraven lead his unit out first, and I waited to jump last with Eddie. We all made it to the jungle floor below, without injuries, and began the hike to the downed Quinjet. Lucky us, the Quinjet was only a couple of miles further into the jungle…

Officer Kraven was really in his element in the jungle. He cleared the way forward with an efficient silence that proved why he is considered to be a master hunter. Within no time we had reached the Quinjet, and we gathered what remained of the mission supplies.

"So what now, Officer?" Eddie asked me.

Before I had a chance to answer, and from the treetops around us, an avalanche of gunfire rained down on our position! As we ran into the downed  
Quinjet for cover, I thought the mission was over before it started. I had no idea what we were going to do next... let alone before an ambush! We were doomed.

And then the shooting stopped...

From the treeline in the distance emerged four people. They came walking towards the Quinjet. From our position, we could tell that there were four people, but we couldn't get a view of who they were. We could only get a view of their shadows and their movement in the foliage. When the people were just outside of the Quinjet, one of them yelled inside to us…

"Hey guys! Please tell me someone's still alive in there?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Eddie stated in disbelief.

"Phil?" I questioned out loud. But it couldn't be?... That fast?... Really?

We opened the stern door to the Quinjet, and sure enough- there stood Phil, Rex, Rick, and Barry! I ran over and nearly tackled Phil and Barry with excitement!

"Hey there, Flag. Hourman," Eddie nodded towards Rick and Rex, and then he chuckled, "You guys enjoy your past couple days in this paradise? Rex, I'm sure you found some more plants to study and what not?"

"A few days!?" Rex was stunned to hear. He then brought the party to a halt by revealing, "We've been here for weeks..."

"What!?" I emphatically asked.

Phil explained to us some of what he had learned about the Savage Lands. He said that time worked differently here. I think what he meant was that this place was basically Arda at the dawn of creation. Everything was prehistoric; from the insects, to the plants, and the predators to their prey. While the Savage Lands had a day and night cycle, it was as though this place was in a world of its own. In a pocket- outside of the rest of time, and reality.

However, the reality of this world was not the beauty of its appearance. The reality of this world, according to Phil, was one of wars, and survival. He explained that not only will we be contending with the native species for survival, but that Hydra has built a sustainable presence in the jungles as well. A small unit of Hydra soldiers was who was shooting at us, before the Flash arrived. Barry added that Hydra seemed to be experimenting on the natives here like they were on the mutants at A.I.M. Island.

"So we shut down another one of their camps, and then get out of here?' Eddie quipped, "We'll probably find Hal along the way, right? I mean we already got four out'a five…"

"I've got a friend still looking for Hal," Phil said. "For now, let's move these supplies to a safer location."

"Where's that?" I asked Phil.

"With my friend," Phil replied with a grin. "He's got a pet tiger. How awesome is that?"


	27. Chapter 26: Funny thing is

Chapter 26: Funny thing is

* * *

Before leaving the downed Quinjet, we gathered all of the supplies that we could carry efficiently, and then Phill lead the unit through the dense jungles of the Savage Lands. Talk about a relief though- I couldn't believe that within just a few hours we had found everyone, but Hal. I'm still hoping he will become the hero that I knew him as before, the Green Lantern!

But to become the Green Lantern, he was given some sort of powerful, alien ring. It was given to him by the previous- dying, and alien- ring wearer; who crash landed on Arda. The crash was near a training run that USAF pilot Hal Jordan was flying, in Coast City, California. Hal found the wreckage, and the ring flew off of the dying alien, and on to Hal! The ring gave Hal the ability to manifest anything that he could think of, with some sort of powerful energy from his ring. That all happened in the spring of 1942…

With Hal, now, being missing- presumably in the Savage Lands- I fear that Arda may have lost one of it's mightiest heroes before the real battle ever even begins. But speaking of both "heroes", and the "Savage Land"…

As soon as we were on our way, I began questioning Phil about his friend. Who was it? What was it?

To answer my questions, Phil told me the story about when he first arrived in the Savage Lands. He told me that when he was teleported away by the Cosmic Cube, he said he found himself in a holding cell in some high-tech facility. Phil said he couldn't gather much information, but he did see a stack of papers on a desk, and that the papers had a letterhead for an Essex Corporation.

"Like, Nathaniel Essex, from the letter Bruce found at the bank?" I asked.

"I'm not sure... Funny thing is," Phil began, "it said founded in 1946?"

Phil said that shortly after waking up in the cell, a masked figure electrocuted him! He passed out, of course, and the next thing that he knew- he was laying on the jungle floor. He said he woke up to the sounds of a Stegosaurus eating the moss off of some nearby trees! Phil said he started wandering the jungle, in awe of what he was seeing... That was about nine weeks ago.

Phil said he has since come to understand that the barrier around the Savage Lands is more so a portal, than a barrier. Phil said that passing through the portal seems to takes a varying amount of time, per entrant. None that he's seen have been consistent. He said that the aircraft appear as a speck of light in the dark sky of night, and eventually they fall down into the Savage Lands.

"But we came through the barrier immediately? We never hovered in place or anything?" I naively asked.

He explained that whole the passer does not feel the passage of time around them- one simply passes from one side to the other- but from the inside, inside of the Savage Lands, the passage can take days, to even weeks, to complete.

"I'd imagine that's why I couldn't use the Speed Force to get out of here," Barry chimed in. "I can enter the Speed Force... but it's like walking into a closet. There's no other exits."

"How many other ships have you seen arrive this way?" Officer Kraven asked Phil.

"Five," Phil stated. "I saw Flag, I saw you guys, and I think I might have seen Hal. And then we've identified two Hydra transports."

"What happened to your ship?" I asked Flag.

Must have been a sensitive question. He snapped back, "What happened to yours?"

Phil continued on with his story...

Soon after Phil began wandering, a flock of Pterosaurs' began attacking Phil! He said he sprinted through the jungle, but he couldn't lose the flying beasts. This place seriously has dinosaurs! Phil tripped over a hidden wire, and set off a trap that snared him in to a falling cage! As the Pterosaurs' began to descend on their, now, captured prey, a thunderous yell called out from the treetops! It was a man...

The man leapt from the treetops, and he grabbed the leading Pterosaurs by the neck! He took the beast to the ground, and when the other dinosaurs attacked him, he easily defeated them. The man had the build of Captain America, and had long, golden hair. He moved with the strength, and the speed, of several men.

The man removed the cage from over Phil, and he introduced himself as, Ka'Zar. Phil said Ka'Zar means, "Son of the Tiger."

"Why is his name Son of the Tiger?" asked Officer Kraven.

Phil said that centuries ago, Ka'Zar was born Kevin Reginald, and is from Kentish Town, London, to an English nobleman named, Lord Plunder. Just past the turn of this century, Lord Plunder became the first man to find the Savage Lands. He sailed there with his wife, and their young son, Kevin.

Once they had arrived to the Savage Lands, they learned first-hand how truly savage this place is. Lord Plunder and his wife were killed by a group of natives called Man-Apes, orphaning the young Kevin in the jungle. We know these, Man-Apes, as Neanderthals. Luckily for Kevin, a tiger happened across the young boy one night.

This was no ordinary tiger.. this tiger had been mutated by the radioactive mists that sometimes fall from the barrier. This tiger could talk! Kevin was raised by the tiger, Zabu, and he eventually came to be called, Ka'Zar, by the other Savage Land natives.

"So Kazu and his tiger-dad saved you from some flying dinosaurs? That's about it?" Eddie sarcastically asked Phil.

"Well, not exactly," Phil scoffed.

After removing the cage and helping Phil to his feet, a giant, winged creature flew in, and tackled Ka'Zar! The beast had the body of a man, but the face, and the wings, of a Pterosaurs. He was speaking, yelling, at Ka'Zar! The creature was angry that Ka'Zar had freed Phil, and it vowed to get revenge.

As the two continued to scuffle, another mutated creature approached Phil. Some sort of amphibious monstrosity; it began charging at Phil! Phil said he braced himself for the fight, but at the last minute, a woman came diving out of nowhere, and tackled that beast! Phil said she reminded him of Miss America, "almost- but maybe, somehow a little more human… if that makes sense."

She easily thwarted the beast, and then she introduced herself to Phil as, Shanna. She and Ka'Zar, with Zabu, are the Guardians of the Savage Lands. They drove away Phil's attackers, and then lead him back to their camp. That's where Phil met Zabu for the first time, and Rima, Shanna's mother. Rima cared to Phil's minor injuries, and helped him get acclimated to the Savage Lands.

Roughly two weeks after Phil arrived, he saw two different ships appear in the sky. They fell from the sky a week later, and at that same time another two ships arrived. Phil decided to search for the aircraft that had just arrived. He had hoped they would either bring him a way back home, or at least maybe some answers to where, and when, he even was.

After a few days of hiking through the jungle, Phil and Ka'Zar found Barry, Rex, and Flag. Their ship had landed on a rough mountainside, and as they were approaching, Phil said that the wreckage didn't look good. Fortunately, Barry had been able to get everyone off of the plane before it crashed. Phil and Ka'Zar found the camp that Barry, Rex, and Flag had set up just down at the base of the mountainside.

Over the next six weeks, two more planes fell from the sky, until finally the last ship- me, Eddie, and company- arrived today. Phil, Barry, Rex, and Flag went searching for the wreckage, and that's when then eventually found us being ambushed by a few Hydra grunts.

"That's crazy, man,"

I didn't know what else to say after hearing his story… With so many thoughts racing through my head, and with no idea where to begin- I could only manage to ask him, "So what else have you been doing in your past two months?"

"What do you mean?" Phil chuckled. "If Hydra has a functioning base here, that means they know how to get home… or at least communicate with it." Phil smiled and said, "I've been trying to get home."


	28. Chapter 27: Their side of the river

Chapter 27: Their side of the river

* * *

As we continued our journey through the jungles of the Savage Lands, Phil continued to brief us on the things he had learned over the past several weeks. He told us more about the various species that inhabited the Savage Lands, as well as the Hydra compound that was located in the Eternity Mountains, where Flag's ship had crashed. One of the biggest mysteries of the Savage Lands though, according to Phil, was the presence of another man whom had long been marooned in this place...

The locals called this man by several names; "The Man Who Cannot Die", "The Ghost Who Walks", but most commonly he is referred to as, "The Phantom". The Phantom lives on Skull Island, located at the center of the Gorahn Sea, which rests in the heart of the Savage Lands. His legend not only pre-dates Phil's arrival to the Savage Lands, but the Legend of the Phantom had been in the Savage Lands for even longer than Ka'Zar.

The Phantom wore a distinct, purple, tactical-type suite and mask, he carried twin pistols, and he protected the jungles from the likes of Hydra and the Deviants. He brands those with whom he encounters with one of his two Phantom Rings. One ring has a symbol that looks like four crossing sabres, and is used to mark those that the Phantom deems "worthy". The other ring, with a skull symbol, is referred to as the "Skull Mark", and the Phantom uses that ring to mark those he deems "evil".

"Hold on, Phil. What are the Deviants?" I interrupted to ask.

Of course, right on cue- my answer came not from Phil, but from a figure emerging from the treeline ahead. It was a short, portly man. As he made his way towards us, he proclaimed, "The Deviants are we!"

The ground began to shake, as if something much larger than the man was running towards us. With a thunderous roar, a giant tyrannosaurus rex came raging out of the treeline!

"Oh my Eru! A T-Rex!? Everybody run!" Eddie screamed at the sight of the prehistoric beast. Barry grabbed Eddie before he could get too far and brought him back with the rest of us. Phil stepped between all of us, and this strange man.

"King Mole Man," Phil asked, "what brings you out from the Subterranea, and onto the surface?"

"Phil Coulson, I knew that we would be seeing each other again soon." King Mole Man taunted. "And what is this? You have even brought some extra food for Tyran? How delightfully thoughtful of you."

"Who is this, King Mole Man?" asked Officer Kraven.

"He's a rejected Hydra scientist," Phil explained. "He's a mad man that believes monsters are superior to men, and he experiments on the various species of the Savage Lands.

After being ridiculed by his superiors, King Mole Man, then known as Dr. Harvey Rupert Elder, took a few of his foolish, loyalists with him, and together, they ventured off on their own, and into the Subterranea- a series of vast caverns and tunnels beneath the surface of the Savage Lands."

"Come now, Phil. There's no need for slander. Especially not towards the man who saved your life, right!? Now, Phil, tell your friends about how you owe, King Mole Man, your life!" King Mole Man demanded.

A few days after Phil had met the Guardians of the Savage Lands, he and Ka'Zar went looking for Hal. They were in an area of the Savage Lands known as Sauron's Citadel. Where Ka'Zar's camp is located along the Tabarr River, in the Valley of Geysers; the dense stretch of jungle located on the opposite side of the river is known as Sauron's Citadel. Sauron is the winged, man-beast that had attacked Phil when he first met Ka'Zar.

Eventually, the two stumbled across a lone woman in the jungle. The woman was not at all familiar to Ka'Zar. She was stunning. She had red hair that was as bright as the sun, and she was draped in various vines and leaves. Phil and Ka'Zar began to approach the woman, but they suddenly stopped at the sight of a ferocious tyrannosaurus rex approaching from the river!

The woman seemed unphased by the approaching beast? When it was close enough to her, she reached out and began petting the dinosaur's head! Just like one would pet a house cat, or any other domesticated animal. Phil said they couldn't believe what they were seeing. The two began trying to move closer...

Ultimately, Phil's lack of grace caused him to step on a twig… thus sending a loud snap!, across the area. The tyrannosaurus rex responded with a deafening roar, and then a terrifyingly, fast charge directly towards Phil and Ka'zar! The woman quickly stood up and began commanding for the beast to attack! Phil said that he and Ka'Zar had turned to try and run away, but that they had been surrounded by a swarm of Lizard-Men!

The Lizard-Men were another one of the dominant species of the Savage Lands. They are bipedal humanoids that had the face, and scales, of a reptile. The species lives above the ground; however, they associate themselves with the Subterranea, and they subject themselves to King Mole Man's rule. They had recently pledged themselves to King Mole Man, after he had brokered a peace treaty between the Lizard-Men and their ancient rivals, the Lava-Men.

With a raging tyrannosaurus rex charging on the one side, and a wall of Lizard-Men on the other- Phil and Ka'Zar thought that they were finally going to meet their ends. Phil said just as he was accepting his fate, another man had emerged from behind the Lizard-Men, and called for the tyrannosaurus rex to stop charging.

"Why did you stop, Tyran, from having his dinner, King Mole Man!?" asked the woman.

"Now, Ivy," Mole Man scoffed, "we don't yet know if they could benefit us or not. Let us first introduce ourselves, and then we can see about feeding, Tyran."

Ka'Zar was able to talk King Mole Man out of allowing he, and Phil, to be eaten; however, they were spared only on the condition that they never again return to Sauron's Citadel, nor the Subterranea. Agreeing to King Mole Man's terms, Phil and Ka'Zar left the area unharmed, and returned to their camp in the Valley of Geysers.

In the weeks since, King Mole Man had held up his end of the bargain, by leaving Phil and Ka'Zar alone; however, he had also continued to build his army- known as, the Deviants. The Deviants included parties from the Lizard-Men, the Lava-Man, Dinosaurs, and the Moloids.

The Lava-Men are monstrous humanoids that hail from the great volcano, at the crown of the Savage Lands. The volcano- known as, Gondora- sits on a deposit of ancient energies that caused the early humanoids of the area to evolve lava-like skin, and superior physical abilities. Moloids, previously known as Subterraneans, are bipedal humanoids that live in the Subterranea. After their adoption of King Mole Man as their ruler, they became known as the Mole-Men, or Moloids.

"You never told us this!" exclaimed Rex. He then went on to demand, "And how does that make this King able to control a tyrannosaurus rex!?"

Barry spoke out as well, and questioned, "And why are they bothering us now!?"

"King Mole Man does not control, Tyran," Phil said, "Ivy does. And, well… we might be on their side of the river, right now..."


	29. Chapter 28: Let's get moving

Chapter 28: Let's get moving

* * *

So there we stood, sure to face a terrible death, and I had no idea how to stop it from happening. We've been in the Savage Lands now for a few hours, and twice now we've been ambushed- and by Hydra no less!... Well, King Mole Man was a part of Hydra… Even with a dinosaur, creatures I thought only existed in the minds of deranged artists, and a clearly unstable man, all ready to kill us at any moment, I couldn't stop thinking that something much larger was going on here. I needed to know more about what Hydra was doing in the Savage Lands, and why...

"King Mole Man," a voice came from the jungle, "Let them through."

"Phantom," King Mole Man scoffed, "you have no jurisdiction in Sauron's Citadel!"

The Phantom interrupted King Mole Man, "And neither do you- I allowed Sauron claim to this land, not you! You will allow these men to pass through, to the Valley of Geysers, or you will bring the Curse of the Skull to your entire kingdom."

"He's bluffing," Officer Kraven said. He appeared dazed, and his speech seemed off. "Grodd, is not afraid of his superstition."

"Officer Kraven, what are you talking about, sir!?" asked Private Stewart.

Officer Kraven, and the rest of the SSR soldiers, then lifted their rifles, and aimed at Private Stewart, Barry, Rex, Flag, me, Eddie, Phil, and the Phantom!

I was definitely starting to second guess coming here…

"Mr. Phantom, sir," pleaded Phil, "please tell me you have a plan? Barry? Come on, man?"

"Meet, Grodd," King Mole Man proclaimed, as he introduced us to a giant silverback gorilla! "He is our latest achievement. And a glorious success! He can take control of minds lesser than his," King Mole Man cackled, "and he is far more intelligent than any of you! Grodd, make them kill themselves!"

Under Grodd's mind control, Officer Kraven and his soldiers began firing at the rest of us…

Barry was able to deflect most of the bullets, and then disarm the mind controlled soldiers.

"We won't fight each other, and we don't need to fight you!" Barry declared to King Mole Man.

"Oh, but you will," countered King Mole Man, "you will want to fight me, when you want what I know!

Eternity Mountains. Do you know why those mountains are called that?

I'm sure you don't. I worked there, once. But you see, where they only use the Savage Lands for... privacy- I care little for trying to conquer Arda. The world deserves decimation, not conquering. Now this place… this place is far more to my liking.

But at Eternity Mountains, there's this pit, there, you see. One that's protected by an ancient league. One who also happens to be in league with Hydra"

"Well, why don't you tell us then? What are they doing, Mr. Mole King?" Eddie interrupted to ask.

"Quiet, you ignorant fool!" King Mole Man scolded. "All of you will die, one way or another! There will be no more talking! I'm getting annoyed, and Tyran, is looking starved. Ivy, why don't you and Grodd have some fun, too!"

Ivy called for Tyran to charge; while Grodd charged with the Lizard Men towards us! When the fighting began, King Mole Man retreated into the jungle and vanished. Barry tried to race after him, but Grodd was able to use his telepathy to hold Barry in place. Grodd also was able to use his powers to control the other SSR agents like marionette puppets.

Before long, and one by one, the SSR agents were either killed by Grodd, or eaten by Tyran. Rex had taken his Miraclo and used his powers as Hourman to distract Grodd, and free Barry. Once free, Barry was able to punch Grodd; knocking Grood unconscious. With Grodd down, Ivy quickly disappeared into the jungle; however, Tyran, and a handful of Lizard Men, were still coming after us.

Rex, Barry, and the Phantom kept the raging T-Rex busy, while me, Phil, Eddie, Rick, Officer Kraven, and Private Stewart took care of the Lizard Men. While the Lizard Men were far faster, and stronger, than we were… our guns were a devastating equalizer. Too bad the same wasn't true in regards to, Tyran.

Suddenly, a thunderous ROAR shook the area! From a tree limb near Tyran, a large sabretooth tiger leaped onto Tyran's back! It began furiously biting and slashing away at the dinosaur! Tyran let out a great roar of its own; however that roar, was a roar of pain. Unable to get the tiger off of it's back, Tyran began fleeing into the jungle.

"A legendary sabretooth," Officer Kraven remarked, "such a remarkable animal. A truly worthy prey."

"You mean predator, sir?" Private Stewart questioned. Officer Kraven just glarred over at Private Stewart and then walked towards Barry and the Phantom.

"That was, Zabu," Phil said, "Ka'Zar must be nearby. Come on everyone. We need to get out of the Citadel, and over to the Valley. Let's get moving."

Phil and the Phantom lead the rest of us across the Tabarr River, and into the Valley of the Geysers...

...Remember how I said I couldn't describe the awe-inspiring awesomeness of the Helicarrier…

I won't try here- The "Geysers" are giant trees, and "giant" is merely a placeholder that simply cannot do justice. The trees are so gigantic, some species have entire civilizations that live up in the tree's canopy! The Savage Lands is such an amazing place! It mesmerizes one, with its lush jungles and beautiful rivers… but this place does too, easily, live up to its name of Savage.

Once we finally arrived at Ka'Zar's camp, I was a little disappointed that his shelter was on the ground and not some amazing treehouse... To be fair though, while it was not the most luxurious place, it was safe… and ultimately, after just losing nearly half of our team, safe was really all any of us cared about.


End file.
